Pakistan’s HIV wake-up call: The cost of waiting until 2030 — Part III
The final challenge is to close the silence around undiagnosed HIV and use the next four years to shift from counting infections to preventing them. Prof Dr Muhammad Rafiq Khanani A nd there is a particularly large silence to break: the silence surrounding those who have HIV but do not know it. The source describes the undiagnosed population as perhaps the most alarming feature of Pakistan’s epidemic. National programme reviews have repeatedly shown a substantial gap between the number of people estimated to be living with HIV and those who know their status. The answer is not indiscriminate testing of millions of people with little likelihood of exposure. It is more intelligent case finding through community testing, self-testing, partner and index testing, antenatal services and testing linked with TB, sexually transmitted infections, hepatitis, prisons and other relevant services. The 2030 choice The urgency becomes clearer when the country’s trajectory is considered. ...