HIV/AIDS has attracted international health and political attention as well as large-scale funding since it was identified in 1980. It has touched lives adversely, leaving behind tears and fears and is now one of the greatest Socio-development problem and security issue, facing the world today.
It is fast outpacing many global health and Social issues. At the household level, AIDS causes both loss of income and increased spending on healthcare. A household having a person with HIV/AIDS spend twice as much on medical expenses as other households. This additional expenditure also leaves less income to spend on education and other personal or family investment
UNAIDS, WHO and the United Nations Development Programme have documented a correlation between the decreasing life expectancies and the lowering of gross national product in many African countries with prevalence rates of 10% or more. Indeed, since 1992 predictions that AIDS would slow economic growth in these countries. The degree of impact depended on assumptions about the extent to which illness would be funded by savings and who would be infected.
In South Asia, Pakistan stands only a few steps behind India and Nepal in terms of HIV epidemic. Pakistan is following the Asian Epidemic Model, where the HIV epidemic first establishes among PWIDs and then spreads to the rest of the population via sex workers who have sexual contact with PWIDs. Despite many efforts, Pakistan has progressed from low to a concentrated level of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) epidemic primarily because of consistently high prevalence of infection among People Who Injects Drugs (PWID). Following the first outbreak in this group in 2003 the prevalence has steadily increased and reached as high as 42% in 2011 at Karachi. While there is harm reduction programmes with needle/syringe exchange and other services, there are still no drug (Methadone/Buprenorphine) substitution programmes in the country.
Pakistan is the sixth most populous country in the world, with a current population of 188 million, growing at an annual rate of 2.00 percent. The country has made positive strides in recent years to address its development challenges. Therefore in context of Prevailing HIV/AIDS situation, the geographical and economical condition of Pakistan in general and Karachi-Sindh in particular require immediate response and appropriate environment, which should be evidence based, scientific and at grass root level to reverse the HIV epidemic, eliminating Stigma/discrimination, scaling up HIV testing and expanding treatment services with particular focus on populations and locations of concern.
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