Important safety tip: If you go to Pakistain, keep your pants on. Even better, don't go to Pakistain.
According to the ministry on Friday, in the first nine months of 2024 alone, 9,713 individuals tested positive for the deadly virus.
If this trend continues, the total number of HIV cases for this year could surpass 12,950, a stark rise from the 12,731 cases recorded in all of 2023, The News reported.
The statistics reveal alarming demographic trends, with men accounting for 69.4% of new cases, women for 20.5%, transgender individuals for 4.1%, and children for 6%.
Punjab
...1. Little Orphan Annie's bodyguard
2. A province of Pakistain ruled by one of the Sharif brothers
3. A province of India. It is majority (60 percent) Sikh and Hindoo (37 percent), which means it has relatively few Moslem riots
....
recorded the highest number of new infections, with 5,691 cases detected between January and September 2024, averaging 632 new cases each month.
Sindh followed with 2,383 new cases, averaging 265 monthly, while Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) reported 926 cases, translating to an average of 103 cases per month.
Balochistan
...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it...
recorded 329 new cases, while Islamabad and Azad Jammu and Kashmir
.jpg "Kashmir")
...a disputed territory lying between India and Pakistain. After partition, the Paks grabbed half of it and call it Azad (Free) Kashmir. The remainder they refer to as "Indian Occupied Kashmir". They have fought four wars with India over it, the score currently 4-0 in New Delhi's favor. After 72 years of this nonsense, India cut the Gordian knot in 2019, removing the area's special status, breaking off Ladakh as a separate state, and allowing people from other areas to settle (or in the case of the Pandits, to resettle) there....
(AJK) reported 378 and 10 cases respectively.
Comparatively, the figures for 2023 were even higher, with 12,731 new infections reported nationwide, but the consistent rise in monthly averages for 2024 reflects the worsening nature of the epidemic.
Alarmingly, experts have noted a significant spillover of HIV infections from high-risk populations to the general population.
This is attributed to factors such as poor Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) at healthcare facilities, unsafe sexual practices, low awareness, stigma and other risky behaviors.
"Despite collective efforts, the HIV epidemic is increasing in Pakistain. This demands innovative and sustainable interventions," said Trouble Chikoko, the UNAIDS Country Director for Pakistain, during a recent meeting with the Ministry of Religious Affairs.
Chikoko emphasised the pivotal role that religious scholars and institutions could play in raising awareness about HIV prevention and reducing stigma.
"Collaboration with UN agencies and partners is essential to address this crisis comprehensively," he said.