For a society which shies away from testing for venereal disease, the absence of a proper voluntary screening programme for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) has allowed many patients to escape a timely diagnosis for years, culminating into the current high rate of transmission and infection.
Although HIV in itself is not an illness, its ability to compromise the immune function of the infected person, exposes the patient to a host of lethal diseases including the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), which if left undiagnosed can eventually lead to an untimely death.
Since HIV is transmitted through blood, semen and vaginal fluids, global health experts emphasise the need for awareness on safe sex and the regulation of voluntary testing in high positivity areas in order to curb the transmission of the disease and offer a suitable cure to the patients in the form of antiretroviral therapy.
However, in K-P the existence of several taboos surrounding HIV alongside a lack of awareness on its transmission and prevention has withheld patients from getting tested thereby multiplying their likelihood of transferring the disease to their spouses and families and instigating an epidemic in the region.
The problem has only been exacerbated by the HIV Control Program’s excessive reliance on diagnostic data as opposed to voluntary screening.
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“Such an approach focusing on diagnostic data only often leads to late detection, which limits the effectiveness of treatment and increases the risk of transmission particularly among high-risk populations like the transgender community. We must take a proactive approach towards HIV by initiating educational programs for awareness and promoting voluntary testing,” urged Qamar Naseem, a social worker and Program Manager at a non-governmental organisation for HIV and AIDS, who further opined that limited access to information and healthcare services, compounded by societal taboos and stigma had instigated the rise in number of HIV positive cases in K-P.
According to data obtained from the K-P Health Department, a total of 6,966 cases of HIV have been reported to date from K-P with 1,274 cases from Peshawar, 874 from Bannu, 314 from Mardan, 307 from Charsadda, 300 from Swat, 285 from Lakki Marwat, 241 from Swabi, 227 from Nowshera, and 255 from Lower Dir.
Moreover, statistics also indicate a 228 per cent increase in the number of HIV positive cases in K-P over the years with 223 cases in 2012 to 898 cases reported in October 2023.
Speaking to The Express Tribune on the matter, Dr Tariq Hayat, Program Manager for the HIV Control Program said, “earlier there were only seven care centres for HIV patients across the province but now 13 are offering free treatment and diagnostic services to patients with the support of the Global Fund. We are looking towards raising awareness among a larger population and providing free of cost screening, counselling and treatment to all in K-P.”
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