The way Mumbai handles HIV and AIDS fascinated Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan, Pakistan’s Population Welfare Minister, to such an extent on Sunday that she hopes to replicate some of the city’s key projects, including that of installing condom vending machines, once she returns home.
Dr Awan today toured Kamathipura, Mumbai’s largest red light district, and announced her interest in introducing the condom vending machines that Mumbai had first installed in mid-2008.
“In Pakistan, due to strong socio-cultural values, people still do not talk about sex and HIV in open. We cannot debate the way people in India do. Also the biggest hurdle is that we cannot ask for condoms at shops. Such machines placed strategically will ensure confidentiality and increase the usage of condoms,” said Dr Awan, adding:
“We are now also trying to involve religious leaders as social mobilizers in creating awareness about these issues.”
About health issues in Pakistan, Dr Awan said: “The rising population and the corresponding rise in threat of HIV is a major problem, apart from infant mortality rate, maternal mortality rate, reproductive health, antenatal care and post natal care.”
She said the biggest threat Pakistan faces is the spread of HIV is through blood transfusion without screening, apart from drug abuse. “Blood transfused without screening is the biggest worry. However, since 2006, screening before transfusion has become compulsory and most of the hospitals are complying with it,” she said.
She expressed her desire of replicating the Indian model. “We want to take back the best practices from India in contraceptive use. The way Mumbai District Aids Control Society (MDACS) targets and works with commercial sex workers is unique.
"In Pakistan also there are red light pocket areas in Karachi and Lahore,” said Dr Awan who met commercial sex workers associated with the Asha Mahila Sanstha.
“Before 2000, we faced a lot of problems convincing both clients and our own sex workers about using condoms. But now we do one on one interaction with those sex workers who refuse to use it,” said Rupa Metgudd, secretary of the Asha Mahila Sanstha.
“Dr Awan requested (us) to dub an animation film in Urdu. Also she has asked for English posters that we use as our Information Education and Communication (IEC) material to educate high-risk groups, so that they can reprint these in Urdu."
"She said she will ask India’s Health Minister to send some of our programme officers to Pakistan to share data since the donor agencies like USAIDS and UNFPA, and socio-cultural issues are the same in both countries,” said Dr Harish Pathak, MDACS.
Other than health issues, her purpose of visiting Mumbai, Dr Awan said, was to show solidarity against terrorism, especially after the 26/11 terrorist attack.
“I am visiting Mumbai to create a bond on humanitarian issues that are affecting both the countries,” she said.
On a five-day official visit, Dr Awan will meet Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad to discuss other health and population issues.
Just before her visit to India, Dr Awan named newly married Shoaib Malik and Sania Mirza as brand ambassadors of her ministry.
Source: Express India, 19 April 2010 or http://www.ippf.org/
No comments:
Post a Comment