ISLAMABAD: The United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) has lauded Pakistan’s ‘essential package for health services’, and stated that the inclusion of HIV prevention and treatment services in the package is a positive step towards improving access to comprehensive HIV services, not for some but for all.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, UNAIDS Country Director for Pakistan, Dr Maria Elena Filio Borromeo said with the effective implementation of the package, Pakistan could sustain its HIV response and potentially end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.
UNAIDS strongly believe that ensuring access to good-quality services for all, at the time and place where they are needed, is critical to the success of universal health coverage, Dr Borromeo reiterated.
The essential package of health services will benefit everyone, including the furthest marginalised populations in geographically far-flung areas, and will improve access to lifesaving and life-prolonging services.
Pakistan has also recognised pro-poor health strategies for responding to the HIV epidemic and the need to significantly increase public-sector investment at the federal and provincial levels to enhance primary healthcare services.
This comprehensive package, which includes HIV prevention and treatment services, is a compelling vision of a future in which everyone, including people at the grassroots level, has access to health services that are responsive to their needs and are provided in a timely manner.
Highlighting equitable access to health services, Dr Zafar Mirza, former special assistant to the prime minister on health and now WHO adviser on Universal Health Coverage, said: “Pakistan is well on its way in advancing universal health coverage. Steady expansion of social health insurance for poor people and vulnerable groups and launching of the national essential services package are major milestones.
The programme will help normalise the HIV response in the country along with addressing stigma and discrimination and capacity strengthening of health care providers,” said Asghar Satti, National Coordinator, Association of People Living with HIV and AIDS.
The ‘Essential Package of Health Services’ includes specific services for people living with or affected by HIV, including community-based HIV testing and counseling, with appropriate referral and linkages to care and immediate antiretroviral therapy initiation; provision of condoms to key populations, transgender people, and people in prison; provision of disposable syringes to people who inject drugs; and partner notification and expedited treatment for common sexually transmitted infections, including HIV.
Published in Dawn, December 10th, 2020
