April 04, 2007	Wednesday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 15, 1428

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PESHAWAR, April 3: A total of 110 AIDS cases have been reported from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, having a population of 3.5 million, according to a survey carried out by the AIDS control programme for the region.

About 49 AIDS cases have been reported from the Kurram Agency, 27 from the North Waziristan Agency, 18 from the South Waziristan Agency, seven from the Aurakzai Agency, six from the Khyber Agency and three from the Bajaur agency.

This is just the tip of the iceberg, because people in Fata are generally reluctant to undergo tests for HIV/AIDS, say sources. Almost all the cases have either been diagnosed by the staff of the Lady Reading Hospital or that of the National Institute of Health, Islamabad.

In order to disseminate essential information regarding AIDS and strategies to control its spread, several workshops have been held by the Fata health directorate. The directorate also launched the AIDS control programme in the Frontier Regions of Kohat and Peshawar, their main objective being creation of awareness among the residents there.

On the directives of NWFP Governor Ali Mohammad Jan Aurakzai, a series of workshops were also conducted in the Kurram, North Waziristan and Aurakzai agencies.

About 65 per cent of the population of Fata falls in the age group 14-25 years. The youths are quite vulnerable to diseases like AIDS.

There are some peculiar socio-economic and cultural circumstances too that put young people of the area at a disadvantage, which include poverty, low literacy rate and stigma attached to the condition.

The awareness workshops were addressed by doctors, laboratory technicians, prominent Maliks and religious scholars.