May 20, 2006	Saturday	Rabi-us-Sani 21, 1427

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ISLAMABAD, May 19: Both public and private sectors need to focus on HIV and Aids in all health projects. This was recommended at a policy dialogue under the theme of “Strengthening Public Private Partnership for HIV and AIDS Prevention, Treatment and Care”, organised by Pakistan National AIDS Consortium (PNAC) at a local hotel on Thursday.

The participants also called for a policy framework to ensure effective public-private partnership in combating Aids. Government should work as facilitator and resource provider in this regard, they said.

Speaking on the occasion, Director-General Health Dr Abdul Majeed Rajput said the government was determined to build strong partnership with civil society organisations to combat HIV and Aids in the country.

Already, a number of projects are underway in which public and private sectors are actively coordinating to fight against the deadly virus, he said.

PNAC President Raja Khalid Mehmood said the dialogue process had been initiated at the national level in consultation with the government.

The effect of this policy will definitely trickle down to provincial level. He also emphasised that PNAC would continue to play its role in initiating policy dialogues on various issues related with HIV and Aids.

In his key note remarks, Dr A.R. Kemal, an economist, discussed the social and economical aspects of the spread of epidemic. While quoting examples from other countries, he said the worst impact of HIV and AIDS was always on economics of the country and that was why it should be dealt with as a developmental issue.

Stakeholders from various international and national governmental and non-governmental organisations participated in the dialogue and made recommendation for strengthening partnership between public and private sectors.

It was agreed that Aids was a serious threat that could neither be tackled by the government or by civil society organisations working in isolation.

It requires concerted and timely efforts.

Michael Dale, head of operations, European Commission, warned that time was passing rapidly and the epidemic was following the same path in Pakistan it had followed in other countries.

If strong partnerships are not developed, it might be too late to respond to the epidemic effectively and efficiently, he said.