A meeting was organized by Mr. Oussama Tawil, UNAIDS, India with the UNAIDS Regional Support Team for Asia-Pacific in Bangkok represented by Mr. Pradeep Kakkattil, Deputy Director and Dr Vladanka Andreeva. The meeting was also attended by Ms. Anne Bergenstrom, UNODC Office – Pakistan. Mr. Luke Samson, SHARAN-India and Mr. Tariq Zafar and Mr. Ghazanfar Imam.
The key outcomes of this meeting were to further strengthen the alliance between UNAIDS, Governments, CSOs, Development partners and Community networks and operationalize good practices that are present in the region (Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka) in order to have a coherent response to the reduce the increasing incidence of HIV among PWID being evidenced in these countries. This document/assessment would provide all stake holders with cost effective, innovative solutions to achieve the ultimate goal of reversing the HIV and AIDS epidemic. Modalities of cooperation were discussed at length particularly to meet the emerging needs for access to treatment and adherence monitoring for PWIDs, their partners and children living with HIV and AIDS.
It has also been proposed to organize a Response beyond Borders (RBB) event around cost effective and innovative interventions in Pakistan towards the end of the year and support other events in the Region – ICAAP, etc.