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AIDS Programmes

National Strategic Framework: 2002-2011

Pakistan’s national approach includes a focus on its vulnerable populations such as a trial of female condom interventions among female sex workers in Karachi.

Situation Report (UNICEF 2006):
Pakistan’s first confirmed case of HIV was in 1986. Until the mid-1990s, it was widely believed to be a disease of foreigners, and that Pakistan’s traditional values would prevent the spread of HIV and AIDS. Unfortunately, HIV now appears to be gaining a foothold among injecting drug users and sex workers, from where there is risk of expansion into the wider population.

Officially Pakistan is described as a low or emerging prevalence. As of December 2005, Pakistan had confirmed only 2,197 HIV cases, 37% of which were identified as resulting from heterosexual transmission. Disturbingly, in 34% of cases, no route of transmission is known. Despite the small number of confirmed cases, the WHO/UNAIDS forecast model estimates that between 70,000 and 80,000 people are infected. Underreporting is assumed to be due to low surveillance capacity, social stigma, and a lack of knowledge among the wider population and health professionals.

While the HIV prevalence rate in the general population of Pakistan remains relatively low (0.1%), it is considered a “concentrated epidemic” as the prevalence rate has climbed above 5% recently among vulnerable subpopulations, particularly injecting drug users and sex workers. According to two studies conducted in 2004-2005, there are currently approximately 60,000 injecting drug users, 99,000 female sex workers, and 14,000 male sex workers in Pakistan1. Further, the age of initiation into these high-risk behaviour groups has been shown to be as young as 8 years old for male sex workers, 15 years old for female sex workers, and 14 years old for injecting drug users. The studies estimate that in Karachi alone, the number of HIV positive injecting drug users grew from .4% in 2003 to 26% in 2005, the cause of which is largely attributed to unsafe injecting practices. Moreover, 30% of injecting drug users purchased sex from a sex worker, and 90% of these did not use condoms. Considering that a large percentage of sex workers and their cliental are married, high-risk behavioirs and increased HIV transmission rates among these subpopulations create the potential for a widespread HIV epidemic among the general population in Pakistan.

HIV/AIDS Organisations
National AIDS Control Programme, National Institute of Health, Ministry of Health
Contact person:	Dr Najma Lalji, Chak Shahzad	Tel:	+92 51 925 5367 +92 51 925 5368
Location:	Islamabad, Pakistan. (44000)		+92 51 925 5241
		Fax:	+92 51 925 5214
		Web:	www.nacp.com.pk
What we do:

Pakistan National AIDS Consortium
Contact person:	Aftab Ahmed Awan, national programme officer	Tel:	+92 51 4100935
Location:	House # 441, Street # 57, Sector I-8/3, Islamabad, Pakistan	Mobile:	0333-590 1194
		Email:
		Web:
What we do:

Health and Nutrition Development Society (HANDS)
Contact person:		Tel:	+92 21 453 2804
Location:	225/1/B, Block II, PECHS, Karachi, Pakistan	Fax:	+92 21 452 7698
		Email:
		Web:	www.hands.org.pk
What we do:	Training and capacity-building.

NGO Coalition on Child Rights (NCCR)
Contact person:	Prof M Ismail	Tel:	+92 91 247 536
Location:	St. A--14 Ittehad Colony Peshawar, Pakistan	Fax:	+92 91 247 536
		Email:
		Web:	www.nccr.tk
What we do:	NCCR is a coalition of almost 600 community-based organisations. Areas of specialization include Child labour and working children, Children and citizenship, Children with disabilities, Sexual exploitation of children.

Pakistan Council for Social Welfare & Human Rights
Contact person:	Muhammad Ijaz Noori	Tel:	+92 523 560 115
Location:	Sakhi IttbarSialkot 51310 Pakistan	Fax:	+92 523 563 809
		Email:
		Web:
What we do:	Promotes social development, human rights, peace, equality and social justice for local communities.

Family Health International
Contact person:	Dr Mohammed Tariq	Tel:	+92 51 285 5993
Location:	H#9 9th Avenue F-8/1 Islamabad 44000, Pakistan	Fax:	+92 51 285 4528
		Email:
		Web:
What we do:	Life skills training for youth and street children.

Pakistan AIDS Prevention Society
Contact person:		Tel:	+92 21 262 6142
Location:	P.O. Box 8756 Saddar Karachi, Pakistan	Fax:	+92 21 262 6424
		Email:
		Web:
What we do:

ILO
Contact person:		Tel:	+92 51 227 6456/8
Location:	ILO Building, G-5/2 Adjacent to State Bank of Pakistan Islamabad, Pakistan	Fax:	+92 51 227 9181/2
		Email:
		Web:
What we do:	Developing AIDS awareness campaigns with ministry of labour.

UNICEF
Contact person:		Tel:	+92 51 209 7700
Location:	90, Margalla Road, F-8/2 P.O. Box 1063 Islamabad, Pakistan	Fax:	+92 51 209 7799
		Email:
		Web:	www.unicef.org
What we do:	Information campaigns around HIV/AIDS and sexual violence for at-risk youth as well as life skills training; support for the country’s relatively new PMTCT initiative.

UNICEF Regional Office—South Asia
Contact person:		Tel:	+977 1 4417 082
Location:	HIV/AIDS Section Lekhnath Marg, Lainchaur P.O. Box 5815 Kathmandu, Nepal	Fax:	+977 1 4419 479
		Email:
		Web:
What we do:

UNAIDS Country Coordinator
Contact person:	Aldo Landi	Tel:	+92 51 825 5787 +92 51 265 5052
Location:		Fax:	+92 51 265 5051
		Email:
		Web:	www.unaids.un.org.pk
What we do:

UN Theme Group on HIV/AIDS, Chair
Contact person:	Dr France Donnay, UNFPA	Tel:	+92 51 280 0082
Location:	5th Floor, Saudi Pak Tower Jinnah Islamabad, Pakistan Avenue, F-7	Fax:	+92 51 280 0055
		Email:
		Web:
What we do:

Treatment Map
Adult HIV Prevalence Rate (%):	0.1
No. Of People living with HIV/AIDS:	85,000
No. Of HIV Testing & Counselling Sites:	47
No. Of People in need of ART:	n/a
No. Of People On ART:	n/a
No. Of Sites Reportedly Distributing ARVs:	n/a
No. Of People on ART Public Sector:	n/a
No. Of People on ART Private Sector:	n/a
No. Of People on ART in Non-Government Programmes:	n/a
No. Of People Expected to be on ART by end 2007:	n/a
Front Line Drug Regimen:	n/a
*PMTCT Regimen:	n/a

HIV/AIDS Fund Disbursements:
Total Funds Disbursed By The Global Fund as of February 2007:	US$ 17,096,497
Total Funds Disbursed By The World Bank Multi-Country HIV/AIDS Programme (MAP) as of Sept. 2006:	not applicable
Total Funds Planned for Disbursement By PEPFAR During 2006 Fiscal Year:	none

Sources:

UNAIDS, Pakistan’s National AIDS Control Programme

Indicators
Demographics (United Nations Population Fund):
Population:	161.2 million
Urban population:	35 percent

Under 5 mortality per 1000 births:	101
Male life expectancy:	64 years
Female life expectancy:	64.3 years
Combined average life expectancy:	64,15 years
Combined average life expectancy 1975-1980:	approx. 51.9 percent

Education (UNESCO, 2004):
Males with secondary education as percentage of secondary school-age youths:	31 percent
Females with secondary education as percentage of secondary school-age youths:	23 percent

Literacy rates (UNESCO, 2004):
Percentage of literate males aged 15 or older:	63 percent
Percentage of literate females aged 15 or older:	36 percent
Combined literacy rate for aged 15 or older:	49.5 percent

AIDS Programmes

HIV/AIDS Organisations

Treatment Map

Indicators