Karachi home to 47% AIDS patients of country: Commissioner

KARACHI (APP) - Commissioner of Karachi, Shoaib Ahmad Siddiqui here on Friday sought coordination among city administration and all concerned agencies for an efficient rehabilitation programme for 47% of the country AIDS patients living in Karachi.

In a meeting with Country Representative of UNAIDS, for Pakistan, Marc Saba the commissioner said the people suffering from acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) are settled in different areas of the metropolis, mainly in areas with sizable industrial installations."These people often in active productive age groups can not and must not be ignored," said the Karachi Commissioner.

He said Karachi administration has approached health department, provincial HIV/AIDS control programmes as well as different concerned NGOs to help develop a patient as well as public friendly approach to provide timely support to prevent further spread of the virus and also enable affectees to lead best possible quality life.

The country representative of UNAIDS expressing his willingness to provide all possible support for the cause shared with the Commissioner Siddiqui the Mayors' Conference organized by his agencies at different major cities of the world since long. Mentioning that these conferences are organized with City Specific Approach, as HIV carriers and AIDS sufferers are mainly those either already living in urban areas or moving towards major urban

centres due to availability of services.

He said UNAIDS as a policy is extremely sympathetic towards the plights of AIDS patients pertaining to developing world and is keen to be part of coordinates programmes aimed at prevention, managements and rehabilitation of HIV/AIDS affected people.

Other senior officials of concerned departments were also present on the occasion.