Individuals diagnosed with HIV can live a perfectly normal life despite being infected by the crippling ailment, experts participating in an awareness walk to mark World AIDS Day 2022 agreed over the weekend.
Addressing the event, Additional Director (AD) of Communicable Disease Control (CDC) Sindh, Dr, Ershad Kazmi, said HIV-positive people can also marry and have children.
However, they are required to ensure that they take their medicines regularly just like people living with other chronic diseases such as hypertension and diabetes.
Dr. Kamzi stated that prevention is the cure, advising people to take necessary measures to prevent themselves and their family members from contracting this disease.
CDC Sindh is working hard to put an end to AIDS in the province. Some of the measures taken by the CDC include increasing the number of diagnostic tests.
From January to October 2022, CDC Sindh conducted more than 1.1 million HIV diagnostic tests in the province. In June this year, CDC Sindh also introduced PrEP, a preventive medicine that can protect at-risk individuals from HIV exposure for two days.
CDC Sindh has also launched comprehensive HIV awareness campaigns, aiming to motivate citizens, particularly youngsters, to get themselves tested for the disease, the News reported.
Dr. Kazmi said that a new HIV treatment center has been established at Karachi’s Ziauddin Hospital, while the one in Nawabshah has started offering pediatric HIV and prevention of parent-to-child transmission (PPTCT) services.
Another center will be inaugurated in Sanghar this month. Karachi’s Liaquat National Hospital will also get another center this month. CDC Sindh also recently became the signatory of the Paris Declaration on Fast-Track Cities Ending the HIV Epidemic.
Dr. Kazmi concluded that most of the HIV-infected population of Sindh is based in Karachi. 46% of the province’s total HIV-infected population is based in the provincial capital. He added that CDC Sindh is working to introduce self-diagnostic testing kits in at-risk communities.
