Statement of Dr. Abdul Malik Kasi Minister for Health of Pakistan at the 26th UNGASS on HIV/AIDS

Mr. Chairman,

Allow me to extend on behalf of my delegation our warmest greetings and best wishes to you on chairing this watershed Special Session. We are hopeful that under your wise stewardship, this Special Session would be able to achieve the objectives that bring us together in facing the worst challenge to humanity in centuries. We also appreciate the contribution of the two co-facilitators to the outcome document.

This Special session is an event of paramount importance for the entire world community. It provides us a unique opportunity not only to reaffirm our firm commitment and resolve to combat the pandemic of HIV/AIDS but also to evolve a collective global response and a comprehensive action plan to deal with this menace of unprecedented magnitude. We must rise above narrow expediencies and focus our undivided attention on the need to prevent and combat HIV/AIDS in all parts of the world without any discrimination or selectivity.

Mr. Chairman,

HIV/AIDS is no more a health problem; it has become a security issue as millions of people are at the verge of extinction. More than 22 million people have died of AIDS. Over 36 million are estimated to be living with HIV/AIDS. Out of this over 25 million are in Sub-Saharan Africa alone. Asia and Latin America put together count for 8 million victims. Around 90% of the AIDS victims are living in the developing countries where the incidence rate is aggravated by poverty, hunger, disease, lack of medical facilities, illiteracy and under-development.

AIDS has become a development issue and poverty is recognized as direct contributor to the spread of HIV/AIDS. Combating HIV/AIDS and eradicating poverty must therefore, go hand in hand. This cannot be achieved without active and determined cooperation on the part of the international community with special participation of the developed countries who have a moral obligation to set aside a part of their affluence to reduce the burden of poverty and alleviate human suffering. There has never been greater urgency in responding to the needs of the developing countries through enhanced debt relief, market access and Official Development Assistance.

HIV/AIDS is having a more severe impact than was originally projected. Resources devoted to combating the epidemic at both national and international levels are not commensurate with the magnitude of the problem. Last year, only about one billion dollars were spent on combating AIDS in developing countries, a sum totally inadequate to cope with the challenge.

 
We appreciate the personal commitment and dedication of Secretary General Kofi Annan in intensifying international efforts against AIDS as a matter of priority. The Global AIDS Fund launched by him lays out a solid foundation on which a global response to HIV/AIDS should be built. We hope that with generous contributions the Fund would eventually add seven to ten billions dollars annually to the current level of spending, as envisaged to.

We are happy to see representatives of international pharmaceutical companies here. While welcoming them, we urge them to consider HIV/AIDS as a humanitarian issue and not a commercial venture. Human life is much too precious to be used for profit. We hope that besides making generous contribution to the Fund, they would complement it by providing treatment for HIV/AIDS, at least to the victims in Least Developed Countries of sub-Saharan Africa, at affordable prices.

Mr. Chairman,

HIV/AIDS in Africa is the cross cutting theme of this session. It is Africa that is most severely affected and where combating is proving to be the most difficult task due to abject poverty, lack of domestic resources and heavy debt burden. Pakistan attaches great importance to this Special Session on HIV/AIDS not only because of the humanitarian dimension of the problem, but also because we accord a high priority to our relations with Africa. We feel the heat of the inferno decimating hundreds of them every day. We share the pain and agony of our African brothers. We have come to this meeting to express our solidarity and to reiterate our support in their struggle against HIV/AIDS.

Mr. Chairman,

The Secretary General in his report on HIV/AIDS has given an exhaustive and comprehensive account of humanitarian, developmental, social, and cultural dimensions of the pandemic.

We fully agree with the observation of the Secretary General that Asia must act up-stream to prevent and minimize new infections rather than reacting down-stream to the impact of HIV/AIDS. This should, however, not draw the attention of the international community away from the need of planning effective campaign to prevent and combat the pandemic in South Asia.

We believe that every country has to chalk out its own preventive and combative strategy and formulate and implement goal-oriented policies best suited to its circumstances. International involvement should be limited to resource mobilization, sharing of benefits of research and technological advancement and making available affordable and sustainable treatment and medicines. Above all, it is time now to recognize the fundamental human right to development.

Mr. Chairman,

Indeed, we are facing a human calamity, which must be fought by all of us with unity of purpose. In this collective struggle, there is no room for rhetoric or rancour. We need action and mobilization of resources to fight this war against HIV/AIDS. We must not let controversial norms or behaviours overshadow our struggle. But we must remain sensitive to each other's value system. While pursuing our crusade against the pandemic, let us continue to show respect to each other's culture, faith and values. Tolerance, freedom of choice and spirit of mutual respect and cooperation must continue to guide our interaction as we prepare ourselves to meet this greatest challenge of our times.

Pakistan to a large extent has managed to remain protected from the spread of AIDS so far. By the end of 2000, a total of 1549 HIV positive and 202 AIDS cases have been reported. But we believe that even one AIDS case is an epidemic.

Since the diagnosis of the first AIDS case in Pakistan in 1986, the challenge has been taken very seriously. During 1990, the first govemmentsponsored project for AIDS control in Pakistan was implemented with the support by the World Health Organization (WHO). In 1993, a more extended National AIDS Control Programme (NACP) was launched under a National Agenda. Since then, HIV/AIDS control has been made an essential element of the six major health development projects.

Prevention is the mainstay of our AIDS control strategy. Salient features of this strategy are:

. Gross enhancement of resources. The Government itself sponsors about 80% of the total budget for AIDS Control in Pakistan.
. Decentralization of HIV/AIDS Control Programme to the provincial level through the development of Provincial implementation units in all the provinces of the country.
. Development of a comprehensive HIV/AIDS awareness raising strategy. This includes mass media campaign through electronidprint media. Besides, the NGOs are being continuously supported; NGO consortia on HIV/AIDS have been established in all the provincial headquarters. Our campaign has paved the way to overcome the social and cultural barriers in raising general awareness regarding the sexual and reproductive health issues.
. Our national policy also includes strengthening of a national HIV/AIDS surveillance system. The government has been providing logistic support for free HIV antibody bgcolor="#FFFFFF" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" testing in the public sector. The government is committed to institutionalise behavioural and serological surveillance through establishment of second-generation surveillance system.
. The public sector blood banks are supported for provision of free of cost HIV and Hepatitis B screening since 1995 under the government initiative for promoting safe blood transfusions. The government is finalizing the legislative framework for safety of blood.
. The National AIDS Control Programme serves as a resource center to develop country-specific guidelines and protocols and for human resource development covering various aspects of HIV/AIDS including counselling, care, support, clinical management, STIs care, surveillance, and blood safety.
. We are also focusing on Bio-social research. Two national studies on "Prevalence of STIs" and "2nd HIV Scro-prevalence" are presently being carried out. We are about to launch the second Knowledge Attitude and Behaviour Survey at national level to determine the impact of our media campaign. Simultaneously an external evaluation of the national programme will also be carried out. All these studies will provide strong and evidence-based information for the planning of AIDS control activities in future.
. Government of Pakistan, in collaboration with UNAIDS and its cosponsors has developed a "Strategic Framework" for the next five years. We feel proud that Pakistan is the first country in South Asia to develop such framework. This framework has identified nine priority areas which include: Expanded Response, Vulnerable and High-risk groups, Youth Surveillance and Research, Care and Support, General Awareness, Blood and Blood Product Safety, STIs and Infection Control. Costing of whole framework document is being carried out now and precise activities will be developed thereafter.

Chairman,

The Government of Pakistan recognizes that HIV/AIDS poses potentially a very serious threat to the health and well being of the nation's citizens. While prevalence rates are currently low, we know that we must take preventive action now in order to control the epidemic from spreading and devastating people's lives. We area proud to say that the Government of Pakistan has put the building blocks of a strong prevention programme in place. We are ready to accelerate and expand our efforts in concert with the international community to cope with the twin scourge of HIV/AIDS.

Thank you.