PESHAWAR, Aug 26: Educationists have called upon the government to incorporate information regarding causative agents of HIV/Aids and preventive measures in the curriculum of schools and colleges to raise awareness of students about the disease.
“The challenge posed by the pandemic can only be tackled by raising awareness among students because the country’s future regarding prevention of the disease hinges on them,” said Mohammad Iqbal, principal of the Government Degree College, Mingora, Swat.
He was speaking at the concluding session of a two-day advocacy seminar on HIV/Aids organised jointly by the Provincial Aids Control Programme (PACP), Unicef and WHO on Sunday.
He said the inclusion of information about the disease in the compulsory subject of Islamiat could deliver results at the school and college level because most of the students and teachers avoided discussing HIV/Aids owing to social taboos associated with it. “There should be proper notification by the government and the teachers of biology and social works should be asked to take at least one class on HIV/Aids per week.”
He said that there should be monitoring system and statistical data on the quantum of the students’ awareness.
Fida Mohammad of the Government Degree College, Thana, was of the view that the collaboration between health and education departments could make a marked difference regarding the disease’s awareness. “Not only HIV/Aids but information on other chronic diseases, such as hepatitis, malaria and TB should be also made available to the students,” he added.
He said the students should be informed about drastic effects of the reuse of syringes, visiting quacks for treatment, transfusion of unscreened blood and unsafe sexual practices because they had to hold key posts in future.
Riaz Ahmad of the Government Degree College, Battagram, suggested that the government should provide dental kits on subsidised rates in order to stop infections caused by contaminated dental instruments. “Most of the people don’t purchase costly instruments and depend on the un-sterilised hospital instruments that cause spread of infections, including HIV/Aids.
Mohammad Khan Khattak, an educationist, was of the view that most of the people expected information regarding diseases from the students and they needed to be armed with such vital information.
He called for incorporating health education chapters at the college and school level to enhance students’ knowledge not only about HIV but also common diseases.
Dr Iqbal Khalil said that HIV/Aids had taken by storm South African people where every 5th hospital bed was occupied by Aids patients. “Ten per cent of the population is infected with the disease which plunged them into a vicious cycle,” he added.
Concluding the session, NWFP Health Minister Inayatullah Khan feared that the disease could penetrate into the entire population if steps were not taken immediately. He said that Pakistan had so far recorded only 3,900 patients, but the number could be close to 90,000.
“The reported cases are those who have been diagnosed accidentally. These patients were diagnosed with HIV/Aids while being treated for other health problems,” he said. Citing UN’s estimates, he said that there were 100,000 to 150,000 HIV/Aids patients in Pakistan.
Mr Khan said that India, which had been showing complacency about the disease 10 years ago, had now five million confirmed AIDS patients. The disease, he said, had social, psychological, political and economic implications which had the potential to devastate nations.
