KARACHI:OfficialsintheSindhAids Control Programme (SACP) said on Monday that the number of detection of hidden cases of HIV/Aids were on the rise in the province, which helped the programme to take care of the patients and make its policies effective to fight against the disease.

`Estimated cases of HIV and Aids are somewhere 45,000 in Sindh,` said Muhammad Younis Chachar, programme manager of SACP, while speaking at the opening session of the three-day conference on Aids in Sindh at a local hotel.

Dr Usman Chachar, provincial health secretary, inaugurated the conference in which Dr Mamdou Sakho, country director of UNAIDS for Pakistan and Afghanistan, Dr Rajwal of UNAIDS, Dr Nasir Sarfraz from Unicef, and officials of different government agencies, NGOs, community-based organisations, researchers, public health specialists, representatives of the UNFPA,USAID, WHO, GFA and other stakeholdersform all districts of Sindh and across the country participated.

The SACP chief said his organisation`s primary goal was to contain the spread of HIV/Aids in the general population to less than 1 per cent, and ensure adequate provision of services and facilities to the affected individuals, families and communities with enabling environment.

Besides, it also had to control the incidence of HIV in the Most at Risk Population (MARP), especially Injecting Drug Users (IDUs), Hijra sex workers and male sex workers.

Besides, the SACP was to place the time-tested tools of prevention to hold the concentrated epidemic in IDUs, HSWs and MSWs and halt the progress in MA RP and bridging population.

Besides, he said, SACP was trying to reduce and reverse the level of stigmatisation of people living with HIV by creating a supportive system and conducive environment. He said Pakistan was in the concentrated phase of the epidemic.

Speaking on the multiple risk groups in Pakistan for HIV transmission, hesaid, they included injecting drug users men having sex with men, transgenders (HSW-Hijra sex workers), FSWfemale sex worker and MA RA (most at risk adolescents).

He said an estimated number of HIV-positive cases in the country were 104,000 (about 0.1pc of the total adult population in Pakistan).

He said there was an increasing trend of HIV /Aids in Sindh where the estimated cases were 45,000.

The health secretary appreciated the efforts of SACP saying the conference was an opportunity to provide scientiñcapproachfor stakeholders.

Dr Mamadou Sakho said the conference would be an initiative to accelerate fast track response to control the HIV epidemic in the province.

Organisers said sessions for communities, religious leaders, scientiñc, STIs etc were focus of the conference.

`This opportunity will provide a knowledge sharing, experience through interactive sessions and meeting with national and international crusaders and actors on HIV, AIDS, said an organiser.