ISLAMABAD: A staggering 519 people have tested positive for HIV in Islamabad during the last 10 months from January 01 to October 31, 2022, and an alarming majority of them are young people aged 18 to 25 years. contains Officials said on Wednesday that the men had sex with men other than transgender women (MSM).
“About 519 new HIV positive patients have been registered so far in 10 months of this year at the treatment center at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) Islamabad. Every month in Islamabad On an average, 51 people test positive for HIV,” an official from the National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination (NHS,R&C) told JEE News.
A federal health ministry official, who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media, claimed that about 40 to 45 percent of the 519 new HIV patients were between 18 and 25 years of age. are young people of the age of ‘. self-classified as ‘gay’ or men who have sex with men while the second largest group was transgender, who also engaged in ‘unprotected sex’.
According to the data, 38 new people tested positive for HIV in January, 61 in February, 40 in March, 34 in March, 45 in May, while this month. Most new HIV infections were reported in June this year. In July 53 new HIV patients were registered at PIMS treatment center, in August 61 positive for HIV, 64 in September and 49 new people were found positive for HIV in the month of October 2022.
“Considering the increasing burden of HIV cases in the capital, we have set up another treatment center for HIV patients at Polyclinic Hospital, Islamabad which has been functioning for the past few weeks but It is yet to be formally inaugurated”, the NHS official maintained. .
Dr Nailana Bashir, in-charge of the HIV treatment center at PIMS Islamabad, which has been described as a ‘specialty clinic’, said that they have more than 4,500 people registered with HIV and the number is increasing every year. Increasing day by day. Every day two to three new people are being tested HIV positive in our diagnostic lab at PIMS Islamabad. Ironically, most of those who have been testing positive for the past two years are young, educated men who are homosexual. Most of them know their practice so they find out about the risks associated with their sexual behavior and get their HIV tested,” added Dr Naila.
He said that an increase in the number of young, educated men from affluent families in Islamabad was seen during the peak days of COVID-19 and that most of the people tested for HIV at PIMS Islamabad’s lab in the last two years They are young. The boys, both from the rich class and young laborers living in their workplaces on the outskirts of Islamabad and Rawalpindi. When asked why HIV is spreading so rapidly among young men or boys in and around the capital, he said public health experts and authorities should answer that question.
“When the center was established in 2005, mostly deportees from the Gulf countries came to the center, later the number of injecting drug users increased but now with every passing day, HIV The number of affected youth and transgenders is increasing”. said and revealed that not a single female sex worker was registered with the HIV treatment center in Pimz Islamabad. He maintained that young men and boys who test positive for HIV need psychological support because as soon as they learn of their HIV status, many of them have thoughts of suicide. Thoughts come and some of them even try to commit suicide. But I give them a clear message. HIV is now a curable disease. An HIV patient can live a normal life if he takes his medication on a daily basis, gets his basic tests done and gets medical treatment, which is free in government hospitals”, added Dr. Bashir.
Mohammad Usman, program director of Daricha Mail Health Society, also confirmed that young men and transgender women are testing positive for HIV in Islamabad and Rawalpindi, and said that his organization, a community-based organization, is helping people. Working for the welfare of Men and transgender people who have tested positive for HIV. “Drug use is high among male sex workers, the transgender community and men who have sex with men. Under the influence of drugs, they abandon all precautions and often become infected with HIV. Go”, Muhammad Usman added.
