PESHAWAR, Dec 2: An NGO will set up a voluntary counselling and testing centre in the Central Prison for testing prisoners' blood samples for Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Auto-Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS).

A press release issued here on Thursday said that psychologists from the Dost Welfare Foundation would provide counselling services at the centre to jail inmates. Blood samples of prisoners, who want to get their blood screened, will be sent to the Aids testing facility at the Lady Reading Hospital.

The press release said that the information had also been provided at seminars separately organized in connection with the World Aids Day by the foundation for juveniles, drug addicts and women prisoners. Mr Khalid Abbass, AIG (Prisons), who is also superintendent central jail, Peshawar, was the chief guest.

The NGO's programme manager, Zakir Shuaib, provided details of global Aids situation, especially in Pakistan.He said that according to National Aids Control Programme, 2,748 HIV/Aids cases had been reported in Pakistan while the World Bank reported last year that there were between 80,000 and 90,000 HIV/Aids cases in Pakistan.

Mr Shuaib said that the NGO was implementing HIV/Aids project in nine prisons in the NWFP including Peshawar, Haripur and Dera Ismail Khan. Talking about the high-risk groups, he said that drug-users, sex workers, prisoners, street children and migrants were more prone to HIV infection. Mr Khalid Abbass stressed the need for educating prisoners about the menace of HIV/Aids.