PESHAWAR:Chairperson, Women Parliamentary Caucus (WPC), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, Dr Sumera Shams on Friday said that HIV and AIDS (Prevention, Control, Treatment and Protection) Bill, 2021 has been introduced in the provincial assembly to prevent and control the spread of HIV & AIDS as well as treatment, care and support of the people living with the disease.
She was speaking in multi-stakeholders consultations organized under the auspices of Blue Veins and Transaction Pakistan working to promote and protect the rights of vulnerable communities.
The proposed legislation will provide measures for the prevention, management and control of HIV and AIDS, to provide for the protection and promotion of public health and for the appropriate treatment, counseling, support and care of persons infected or at risk of HIV and AIDS infection, and for connected purposes, prohibiting compulsory HIV testing, guaranteeing the right to privacy of the individual, outlawing discrimination in all its forms and subtleties against persons with or persons perceived or suspected of having HIV and AIDS, promote utmost safety and universal precautions in practices and procedures that carry the risk of HIV transmission; and positively address and seek to eradicate conditions that aggravate the spread of HIV infection.
Dr Asghar Khan, Project Director Integrated HIV, Hepatitis & Thalassemia Control Programme Khyber Pakhtunkhwa said that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Government is committed to preventing and responding to the cases of HIV, improve services and treatment, a comprehensive legislation would help ensure the services”.
Qamar Naseem Program Coordinator Blue Veins said that the protection of human dignity in the context of HIV is essential to ensure an effective, rights-based response to HIV and AIDS and an effective response requires the implementation of all human rights, civil and political, economic, social and cultural, and fundamental freedoms of all people, in accordance with existing human rights standards.
Farzana Jan President of Trans Action said that many transgender people face stigma, discrimination, social rejection, and exclusion. HIV prevention for transgender people should be the core priority in HIV prevention and response as part of high impact prevention approach.