IMC Pakistan’s World AIDS Day seminars educate hundreds of refugees

More than 800 Afghans living in six refugee camps in Pakistan’s Northwest Frontier Province participated in IMC’s World AIDS Day activities aimed at increasing community awareness about HIV/AIDS.

PHOTO: IMC An IMC staff member educates Afghan refugees about HIV/AIDS on World AIDS Day.

“AIDS is an invader that we have to defend ourselves from by all possible means,” said a refugee camp school teacher in an emotional address at an IMC seminar. Community members responded to his words, shouting “Yes.”

Working through more than 100 health staff, IMC organized community-based awareness campaigns at seven basic health units in Afghan refugee camps and four Mother Child Health Centers for local communities in underprivileged districts of the Northwest Frontier Province. Information was given in the local language so that people could participate in the question-answer session. They were encouraged to ask questions about prevention, modes of transmission, symptoms, and treatment, and then pass the information onto other members of the community.

People living in three refugee camps who could not participate in the seminars took part in marches. Many people along the route joined the walks to show their support, including a member of the Pakistani government’s Commissionerate of Afghan Refugees who participated in a march in Barakai.

Until recently, HIV/AIDS was a taboo subject in the region, particularly for the highly conservative local and Afghan refugee communities. However, IMC’s ongoing community-based health education has sparked discussion and increased awareness. Women and men both have benefited from the health education seminars and IMC has seen a marked improvement in health-seeking behavior at the community level.