Pakistan in a state of AIDS denial

That's just one among the long list of issues about which Pakistanis love to behave like "ostrich's head in the sand".

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http://dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2006\12\01\story_1-12-2006_pg7_19

Pakistan in a state of AIDS denial: UN official

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is in a state of denial about the extent of its HIV/AIDS problem, and political leaders need to understand the reality, otherwise it will be very difficult to contain the epidemic, said a United Nations AIDS official.

The Pakistani government has reported about 3,500 cases of people with HIV, 367 of whom have developed AIDS, but the true number of HIV cases could be as many as 210,000, said Aldo Landi, the country coordinator of the UN AIDS agency in Pakistan.

“There is still a state of denial for many reasons, but it’s not only in Pakistan,” said Landi.

“Unfortunately in many countries, it’s a major problem. It’s the reason we are not successful in containing HIV. Political will is the first thing ... if there is no real strong political will, it is very difficult to contain the epidemic,” he said.

He said that Pakistan had a major heroin problem, and studies had found that about a third of injecting drug users in Karachi were HIV positive.

The official said that the virus was also being spread through sex, and “the sexual part is also very important”.

“We know that 30 percent are positive,” he said of Karachi’s drug users. “They are young, jobless, 40 percent are married, which means they infect their wives through sex,” he added. “Your political leaders have to understand what is going on,” he said.

Landi said that nobody knew the true extent of the spread of HIV as surveillance for the virus was only beginning in Pakistan, but the figure was not the issue. “The problem is not the number ... the problem you have already in the country is that there is an epidemic,” he said.

The official was speaking on the sidelines of a news conference to announce the setting up of a network of groups to help people with HIV, to mark World AIDS Day on Friday. reuters