HIV & AIDS Related Services
Approximately 40% of street based persons injecting drugs across Pakistan are HIV positive. Fifty percent are married with three children per household resulting in transmission of HIV from husbands to wives and intimate partners. Ten percent of the wives are HIV positive. We provide access to HIV and AIDS diagnostics services including Voluntary Confidential Counseling and Testing and portable machines to measure CD4 cell count. Access to the few Public sector clinics for AIDS treatment (anti retro virals), baseline diagnostics and treatment of opportunistic infections is often difficult due to procedural delays, time consuming protocols, stock outs and needs to be streamlined.
We have trained staff that provides voluntary confidential counseling and testing services in 30 districts across Pakistan.
We follow WHO protocols for VCCT and use WHO approved rapid HIV antibody test kits.
VCCT is provided in static and mobile settings to street based persons who inject drugs, to wives of HIV positive persons or wives and sexual partners at risk and children at risk.
CD4 count.
In resource constrained settings and particularly with mobile populations of street based persons who inject drugs loss in follow up post VCCT of HIV positive persons can be very significant (up to 85%) before ART initiation.
Mainline Foundation, Netherlands supported us to pilot Pakistan’s first portable WHO approved CD4 machine. The success of this pilot has been scaled up by the Global Fund across Pakistan and our trained lab technicians provide this essential service at the door step.
Referral services.
Are an integral part of HIV and AIDS related services provided by us.
Most of these services are linked with Public sector health care facilities that provide AIDS related treatment and services, treatment of opportunistic infections, TB DOTS program and general medical care.
We continuously reach out to increase the pool of our referral services to other areas e.g. employment, skills training, etc.