KARACHI, Sept 19: Pakistan exposed to all relevant factors prone to rampant prevalence of HIV/Aids needs to strengthen its prevention strategy. This was stated by the ILO Technical Specialist (HIV/Aids and World of Work) South Asia, S. Mohammad Afsar, while talking to journalists on Tuesday following the two-day workshop organised for Master Trainers by the ILO and Pakistan Employers Federation.

He said that Pakistan was officially reported to have 78,000 people with HIV/Aids. The scenario was similar as experienced by India some 10 years back, he added.

He was of the view that Asian countries with an estimated population of 8.3 million HIV/Aids people, including 5.2 million in India only needed a multi-sectoral approach focussed at prevention to avoid any epidemic.

S. Mohammad Afsar said that Pakistan was also exposed to conditions of vulnerability including lack of knowledge, migration, injecting drug use, inadequate health system, presence of commercial sex workers making it extremely important to involve all segments of the society.

He reminded that people between 15 years and 49 years of age were the commonest victim of the disease. “This is the age when people are the most productive asset for society,” he said.

It was said to be in the given backdrop that ILO in collaboration with the Pakistan Employers Federation arranged the workshop for the selected employees of 30 local and foreign companies based in Karachi.

A strategy has been evolved to be in constant contact with the master trainers to disseminate the information among their employers, colleagues and the community they may belong to.

“A comprehensive workplace response to HIV/Aids must have three components ranging from a policy on HIV/Aids that ensures non-discrimination; prevention programme; care and support programmes,” he elaborated.

The technical specialist said that the ILO might suggest incorporation of workplace policy to combat HIV/Aids in the national policy.

Dr Shaikh Zafar Ali of Boscor-Pakistan, representing the participants of the workshop, said the exercise at the very onset brought all the participants out of the state of disbelief. The fact that 0.5 per cent of the local population may be the HIV carriers ought to be urgently realised with a pragmatic approach to prevent further spread, he observed.

Shahana Kaukab of the Pakistan Employers Federation said that occupation safety and health management were important components of any enterprise and in the given situation when HIV/Aids had appeared as a major challenge this too has to be extended due importance.

G.R. Arshad, vice-president of the federation, distributed certificates at the end.—APP