Muhammad Ahmed Abdullah, Nargis Yousuf Sattar.
Pakistan's HIV epidemic: understanding through a health systems approach.
Pak J Public Health Jan ;2(3):26-32.

Pakistan is suffering from a concentrated HIV epidemic. With UNAIDS estimates of around 80,000 HIV cases and multiple pockets being discovered among high risk groups, throughout the country, it is not hard to imagine that Pakistan is following the \'Asian Epidemic Model\'. There is a well-developed concentrated epidemic among the injecting drug users in major cities. Commercial sex work by female, male and hijra sex workers is also an easily placed block in the puzzle. Bridging populations, such as clients of sex workers, wives of IDU\'s, HIV cases deported from abroad, truckers and migrant men also need to be focused upon. For curbing this probable menace a more holistic paradigm must be employed. The health systems research must be used to generate relevant evidence to counter this problem head on by considering all relevant stakeholders and working on multiple levels simultaneously. The Health Systems Pathways framework adopted from the Health, Nutrition and Population Network\'s Chapter in the World Bank\'s Poverty Reduction Strategy Sourcebook (2001) was brought to use for elaborating a way forward to curtail the peril of a generalized HIV epidemic in Pakistan.

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