HIV/AIDS in Pakistan

Though, HIV is not a dominant epidemic in the adult population of Pakistan, coupled with the extremely low awareness of HIV/AIDS in Pakistan, as well as growing number of cases, the AIDS epidemic is poised to take a hold in Pakistan. The presence of additional risk factors such as unscreened blood, and low condom use rates make the situation fertile for AIDS to become a major public health issue.

The National AIDS Programme’s latest figures show that around 3,000 HIV cases have so far been reported since 1986, but UN and government estimates put the number of HIV/AIDS cases between 70,000 and 80,000 with the vast majority going unreported due to social taboos about sex and victims’ fears of discrimination, officials said.