LAHORE: Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid has called for raising more awareness among the youth on stigma linked with HIV/AIDS and its modes of transmission. Speaking at the World AIDS Day Seminar 2020 at a local hotel here on Tuesday, she said that generating awareness among university students about communicable diseases especially HIV/AIDS was of paramount importance as the disease was spreading at a fast pace. She emphasized that removing stigma attached with HIV/AIDS must be the prime focus of the campaign.

She said, "I am grateful to the Vice Chancellors for coming forward for a great cause. The role of Academia is vital for creating awareness among the youth on prevention and control of communicable diseases. We must discourage the trend of using injections for treatment by healthcare providers and public. Injection must be used only when it becomes extremely necessary. Use of infected syringes, surgical/piercing instruments and unsafe blood transfusion are major causes of HIV spread in Punjab. Punjab has been running one of the world's largest Thalessemia Programmes and some years back we discovered that some patients had caught HIV/AIDS through unsafe blood transfusion."

Giving example of COVID-19 spread, she said just as by use of mask we can reduce the risk of Coronavirus spread by up to 70 percent, by prevention we can reduce risk of spread of other communicable diseases considerably. Dr Yasmin Rashid further said, "It is important to reduce negative perceptions attached with the disease. This MoU with leading Universities is a milestone in spreading awareness on HIV/AIDS. We want to see a healthy Pakistan as per vision of Prime Minister Imran Khan."

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020