Karachi: Sindh Minister for Health and Population Welfare oversaw signing of an accord between Administrator Karachi Murtaza Wahab and UNAIDS Country Director Yuki Takemoto.  Accord proposes to join a network of more than 350 cities worldwide that have committed to ending HIV by 2030. 

This agreement makes Karachi first city in Pakistan to be on Fast Track to end HIV and is 11th in Asia Pacific region to do so. Pakistan has an estimated 210,000 people living with HIV of which 43 percent are in province of Sindh with 19,031 positive cases registered in care of which 16,868 (89pc) are receiving Anti-Retroviral Treatment (ART) of which 7,774 (46pc) are from metropolitan Karachi. Cities joining Fast-Track cities network aim to help cities and municipalities to share best practices with one another, thereby supporting urban communities of learning and achieve UNAIDS “95-95-95-95” HIV programmatic targets. Accord ensures that people living with and affected by HIV will be centre of focus and that they will be part of decision making process around policies and programmes that affect their lives. 

That all means, including municipal ordinances, policies and programmes will be used to address factors that make people vulnerable to HIV and other diseases, including laws that discriminate or criminalise key populations. Work will be done closely with communities to ensure that people with HIV enjoy equal participation in social, civil, political, economic and cultural life.  Communities, clinical and service providers, law enforcement and other partners will be collaborated with in this venture and to better serve marginalised and vulnerable populations.

These communities include folks living in slums, migrants, other displaced people, young women, sex workers, people who use drugs, gay men, other men who have sex with men and trans persons in order to foster social equity.

Published in The Daily National Courier, August, 19 2022

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