This year World AIDS Day will be celebrated in Larkana where thousands of people will join hands with Sindh Government in taking the fight against HIV/AIDS to the next level in ending stigma and discrimination to make Sindh AIDS free by year 2030, following Fast Track City Strategy at Karachi and Larkana.
HIV prevention is at the top of the Government's list. The stakes are high but our commitment is stronger and Government takes all health concerns very seriously. Higher level political commitment and ownership are opportunities for the Health Department to accelerate their coverage in the context of universal health coverage and further scale up their response to HIV with innovative service delivery models and decentralization of HIV testing and treatment services at the grass root level. There is also a need to initiate integration of HIV services with maternal and child health services, family planning and tuberculosis control program.
To make this year's theme, "Hands Up for HIV Prevention" effective and beneficial, it is important that the message of prevention should be spread across all segments of the society, from urban to rural, from school-going children to religious scholars, from housewives to sex workers and from men to transgender people, they all need to be educated about HIV prevention, testing and treatment. Government of Sindh is fully committed with the cause, and effective measures have been taken following International Guidelines and Standards Operating Procedures to avoid current Larkana like situation in Sindh.