Pakistan Ulema Council Chairman Hafiz Muhammad Tahir Mehmood Ashrafih said on Tuesday that AIDS was spreading fast due to lack of public awareness.
“AIDS spread mostly through sex, although there are other means too,” Ashrafi said.
According to United Nations (UN) World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates there were approximately 130,000 AIDS patients in Pakistan in 2011. The epidemic had spread since to smaller cities from the major urban centres.
For the longest time, the authorities were under the false impression that there was a low AIDS incidence in the country, which further aggravated the problem as no preventive steps could be taken.
Findings moved Pakistan from a “low prevalence” to a “high risk” level and finally to a “concentrated epidemic” category. Campaigns and studies were initiated and in 2009, the government included HIV/AIDS in its National Health Policy.
“We have to save our people from this fatal disease through awareness campaigns,” he added.