06-20-2010, 12:46 AM
Health Services
This Strategic Plan is ambitious and sets a standard and vision for the Pakistan Red Crescent Society (PRCS). The focus is on capacity building of the National Society, HIV prevention and anti-stigmatisaion. We recognize the fight against HIV/AIDS requires us all to address the diverse and complex issues which have caused and inflamed this epidemic.
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PRCS HIV / AIDS STRATEGIC PLAN
1. OVERALL GOAL , CONTRIBUTE TOWARDS REDUCING THE IMPACT OF HIV / AIDS
2. GUIDING PRINCIPLES
The following guiding principles apply to all programmes:
HIV infection is preventable;
sustainability;
access for the most vulnerable;
equity and equality, with an emphasis on women;
respect and inclusion of people living with HIV/AIDS;
addressing needs both in emergencies and during times of stability;
all programmes are evidence based, and conform with standards set by WHO and UNAIDS, and;
monitoring and evaluation are integral.
3. BACKGROUND AND RATIONALE
The priorities in this Strategic Plan arise from defined areas of need and the nature of the epidemic in Pakistan, Government of Pakistan priorities, the capacity and scope of the National Society, and the Federation HIV/AIDS Policy. This Strategic Plan focuses on capacity building, information dissemination, safe blood, voluntary testing and counseling, population movement and stigma. The rational for prioritizing HIV/AIDS, and taking this approach is as follows.
The impact of HIV in the world is enormous, with almost 25 million deaths up to the end of 2003, and 46 million infected people. There has been a reduction in life expectancy in many countries, especially in Sub Saharan Africa, and economic and development gains of the last 20 years eroded as the economically productive segment of the population is infected, disabled and killed by HIV. This has resulted in macro and micro level disruption to societies, families, economies and health care systems.
HIV prevalence in Pakistan is currently estimated 0.10 per cent of the adult population, or 70,000-80,000 cases. However, the potential for a rapid, widespread epidemic is high, with risk factors common to other countries with high HIV prevalence. These risk factors include, low literacy, poverty, high fertility, low contraception uptake, and poor access to health and education.
With low diagnosis and reporting rates in Pakistan mode of transmission is difficult to conclude. Of reported cases (the minority of estimated infections), heterosexual contact accounts for 40 per cent of cases, exposure to infected blood or blood products accounts for 19 per cent of cases, and for the remaining 35 per cent of cases the mode of transmission is unknown. Given the stigma and social rejection of injecting drug use (IDU), sex work (SW) and men who have sex with men (MSM), it is unlikely these modes of transmission will be reported accurately. In addition, there are a large number of unregistered health practitioners (quacks) who are re-using equipment, particularly needles and syringes.
All four provinces (Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan and North West Frontier), the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, and Azad Jammu and Kashmir have recorded HIV infections.
There are several existing PRCS HIV/AIDS activities:
Membership of the SARNHA; SARNHA was formed in May 2002 in follow up of SART (South Asia Regional Taskforce on HIV/AIDS). Its Headquarters is based at Kathmandu, Nepal and it comprises of six National Societies i.e. Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Health talks at BHUs and MHUs (NWFP and Balochistan) are being delivered and main topics include personal hygiene, diarrhea, communicable diseases and seasonal diseases.
Participation in World Aids Day; it is planned that PRCS will actively take part in World AIDS Days both at National and Provincial levels.
Blood screening for HIV and provision of safe blood services (Islamabad, NWFP, Sindh and Punjab) is being carried out free of cost at National Headquarters and at no profit basis in Provincial Branches.
SAPI is a tri-lateral project between PRCS, Army Welfare Trust and Amson Farmaco Biologico, which aims at vaccinating the communities for Hepatitis-B at subsidized cost and creating awareness about Hepatitis B & C and HIV/AIDS.
HIV/AIDS awareness and personal safety is integrated in CBFA and First Aid training programs. All training programs conducted through PRCS National Headquarters directly or through Provincial Branches include a compulsory session on communicable diseases, which includes HIV/AIDS as an integral part.
The prime modes of prevention address the most common routes of HIV transmission: Safer sex; reducing the transmission from mother to child; providing safe blood transfusion services; universal precautions in health care settings (and piercing or tattoo salons), and; harm reduction or minimization for injecting drug users. All forms of transmission are somehow embedded in social, emotional and cultural factors. In particular, sexual transmission has resulted in considerable stigmatization of HIV positive people, as there are assumptions that immoral behavior occurred which resulted in infection. These social and cultural factors need to be addressed in development of prevention and care programmes.
Information, education and communication (IEC) is the backbone of this Strategic Plan. To reduce stigma, modify risk-taking behavior and enable people to make choices about their own and their familys health, people need knowledge and information. IEC is defined here as:
strategies, approaches and methods that enable individuals, families, groups, organizations and communities to play active roles in achieving, protecting and sustaining their own health. Embodied in IEC is the process of learning that empowers people to make decisions, modify behaviors and change social conditions.
