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RUEHTRO
DE RUEHIL #0039/01 0110418
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
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FM AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD
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INFO RHEHNSC/NSC WASHINGTON DC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
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RUEHZN/ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COLLECTIVE
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RUEHLH/AMCONSUL LAHORE 8361
RUEHKP/AMCONSUL KARACHI 2760
RUEHPW/AMCONSUL PESHAWAR 7424
RUEHBUL/AMEMBASSY KABUL 1365
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 2139
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 5964

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ISLAMABAD 000039 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SENV SOCI ECON ETRD EFIN PGOV PREL PK
SUBJECT: ENVIRONMENT, SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND HEALTH MONTHLY - DEC 
2009 
 
ISLAMABAD 00000039  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
¶1. (U) Summary:  Environment, Science, Technology and Health Monthly 
Update for December 2009, prepared by the U.S. Embassy Islamabad, 
Pakistan. 
 
Topics covered: 
 
      -- Low HPV Prevalence among Karachi Women 
      -- AIDS Therapy Centers in Pakistan 
      -- Pakistan to Formally Enter Antarctic Treaty System 
      -- Patients Feel Budget Strain at Holy Family Hospital 
      -- PARC Chairman Supports Organic Farming Practices 
      -- $2 Million for Pakistan Wetlands Program in 2010 
 
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Low HPV Prevalence among Karachi Women 
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¶2. (U) A population-based survey of HPV (human papillomavirus) found 
a very low prevalence of the sexual transmitted disease in Karachi. 
Over 900 women residing in Orangi Town in Karachi district 
participated in a collaborative survey conducted by the Aga Khan 
University Hospital (AKUH), the French International Agency for 
Research on Cancer (IARC) and the Sindh Government Qatar Hospital 
(SGQH) in Orangi. 
 
¶3. (U) The study was the first large-scale population-based survey 
on HPV infection in Pakistan.  The survey results show that fewer 
than 3 percent of women in Orangi have HPV; however, due to 
"socio-cultural constraints" unmarried women were not included in 
the study. 
 
¶4. (U) A senior instructor and epidemiologist at Aga Khan University 
Hospital, Dr. Syed Ahsan Raza, described the low HPV prevalence in 
Karachi as "striking" compared to levels seen in other countries 
surveyed by the IARC, including Nepal (8.6 percent), Tamil Nadu, 
India, (17 percent), and China (15-18 percent in three provinces). 
"Given that the survey was conducted in one of the largest cities of 
Pakistan and in an area where there is representation of different 
ethnic groups, it is reasonable to believe that the HPV prevalence 
is not as high as in other parts of Asia," said Dr. Raza. 
 
¶5. (U) At the moment, no cervical screening program exists in 
Pakistan, nor is there any data on HPV infection in the general 
population.  Little information is available on HPV-associated 
cervical cancer in the country.  The study points out that past 
public awareness programs on sexually transmitted infections in 
Pakistan have been hampered by the social stigma attached to 
discussing female sexuality.  Even in high-risk groups, women are 
hesitant to undergo regular gynecological examination or medical 
check-ups. 
 
¶6. (U) According to the findings, a total of seventeen different HPV 
types were identified, with HPV 16 ranking as the most common type 
observed in the study.  Higher levels of HPV positivity were 
observed in working women who have had two or more sexual partners, 
women who are 10 or more years younger than their husbands, and in 
women whose husbands have extramarital affairs or are absent from 
home more than seven nights a month.  Higher HPV incidence was also 
found among illiterate women and women who were separated or 
divorced. 
 
¶7. (U) Just over 43% of women participating in the study reported 
using contraceptives. 
 
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AIDS Therapy Centers in Pakistan 
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¶8. (U) According to National AIDS Program Manager Hassan Zaheer, 
there are only 5,000 reported cases of HIV/AIDS in Pakistan, but the 
Ministry of Health estimates there are upward of 95,000 HIV positive 
people in the country.  AIDS awareness in Pakistan is narrow and, 
among the limited number of people aware of the disease, the stigma 
of AIDS is strong. 
 
¶9. (U) However, there are some signs that this stigma is lessening. 
In collaboration with the NWFP AIDS Control Program, the World 
Health Organization (WHO) established a treatment center in Peshawar 
in 2005 for those afflicted with HIV/AIDS.  According to those 
running the antiretroviral therapy center, the facility has helped 
 
ISLAMABAD 00000039  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
educate area residents about the disease and the number of those 
seeking therapy has risen steadily since the center opened in 2005. 
In 2005 the center received 35 patients, while in 2009 they received 
¶136. 
 
¶10. (U) In honor of World AIDS Day, the federal and provincial 
governments announced the opening of five new AIDS therapy centers. 
These new centers will be established in the province with the 
largest number of HIV positive residents (Sindh) and the province 
most affected by conflict (NWFP). 
 
¶11. (U) In Sindh, where between 45,000 and 50,000 people are 
believed to be HIV positive, only 2,951 people have been registered 
with the Sindh AIDS Control Program (SCAP) and only 272 are being 
provided with treatment.  Sindh officials have established two 
facilities to help HIV positive people in the province and hope to 
open a third in the first months of 2010. 
 
¶12. (U) SCAP Manager, Dr. Mohammad Nasir Jalbani, said that 
counseling, testing and antiretroviral therapy were being provided 
at two government hospitals in Karachi - Civil Hospital and Qatar 
Hospital.  These centers particularly want to reach women infected 
with the HIV virus in hopes of preventing the transmission of the 
virus to newborns.  The third center in Sindh will be undertaken 
with support from UNICEF and is planned for Larkana, where HIV 
prevalence has been on the rise. 
 
¶13. (U) The federal government also plans to establish additional 
counseling and testing centers in NWFP early in 2010, starting with 
centers in the Saidu Group of Hospitals in Swat and in the District 
Headquarters Hospital in Daggar, Buner. 
 
¶14. (U) According to Dr. Mohammad Rafiq, Health and Nutrition 
Officer of UNICEF for NWFP and FATA, many people in the area are 
unwilling to undergo testing for HIV/AIDS because of the social 
taboos associated with the ailment and the decision to establish 
these centers in the conflict-torn districts was meant to encourage 
people, especially women, to come forward for voluntary counseling 
and testing.  Those who test positive for HIV/AIDS at the centers 
will be transported to antiretroviral therapy centre in Hayatabad 
Medical Complex Peshawar. 
 
¶15. (U) Voluntary counseling and testing centers are already 
operating in Lady Reading Hospital Peshawar, Abbottabad, and in 
Kohat.  If the proposed centers in Swat and Buner come to fruition 
and operate effectively, Dr. Rafiq hopes to establish centers in 
FATA.  Medical centers in Mardan and Swabi, established for those 
internally displaced by the military operation in Malakand, would 
also be made part of the regular program. 
 
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Pakistan to Formally Enter Antarctic Treaty System 
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¶16. (U) In a meeting in early December the Cabinet of Pakistan moved 
to allow the Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST), backed by 
the Ministry of Defense, to complete all the formalities necessary 
to enter the Antarctic Treaty System and facilitate the 
participation of Pakistani scientists in common research programs. 
Becoming a member of the Treaty System is now necessary in order to 
launch an Antarctic expedition - an undertaking the Ministry of 
Defense says it is eyeing. 
 
¶17. (U) Under the Antarctic Treaty System, acceding states are 
provided the co-operation and support of the Antarctic Treaty 
Consultative Parties (ATCPs) in launching future expeditions to 
Antarctica, including training programs for scientists before they 
participate in joint research programs. 
 
¶18. (U) Pakistan's initial Antarctic expeditions were carried out by 
the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) and MoST in 
co-operation with the Pakistani Navy.  In 1990, Pakistan was elected 
an associate member of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic 
Research (SCAR), the Advisory Committee of the Antarctic Treaty. 
Pakistan previously established Jinnah Research Station in 
Antarctica in 1992.  Pakistan has not returned to the continent 
since its 1990 and 1992 expeditions to Antarctica. 
 
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Patients Feel Budget Strain at Holy Family Hospital in Rawalpindi 
 
ISLAMABAD 00000039  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
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¶19. (U) In mid-December the Holy Family Hospital (HFH) of Rawalpindi 
ceased its practice of providing medicines and surgical disposables 
free of cost to outpatient cases.  HFH will continue to provide 
medicines free of cost in inpatient cases as long as they are able. 
Hospital administrators said that a shortage of funds has forced 
them to cut the free medicine program. 
 
¶20. (U) In fiscal year 2009-2010 HFH requested a budget of $4.7 
million, but the provincial government granted HFH only $2.14 
million for medicine and surgical disposables for inpatient cases. 
According to HFH chief, Dr. Syed Abid Hussain Shah, the hospital has 
already spent $1.96 million of this budget on medicines and will 
keep the remaining $180,000 in reserve to cover the cost of care for 
emergency room and labor ward patients.  Shah added that the 
hospital has stores of medicine worth about $1.2 million. 
 
¶21. (U) The Board of Management of the Allied Hospitals has 
recommended to the GOP that HFH receive an additional $1.4 million 
to be used toward the provision of free medicine.  The funding 
request is still under review by the provincial government. 
 
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PARC Chairman Supports Organic Farming Practices 
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¶22. (U) At a briefing for the visiting Malaysian Minister for 
Agriculture, the Chairman of the Pakistan Agriculture Research 
Council (PARC), Dr. Zafar Altaf, took the opportunity to stress the 
importance of organic farming practices in Pakistan.  Among the 
practices he praised were use of bio-fertilizer, bio-pesticide and 
bio-herbicide.  He added that root tuber crops, as well as beans, 
rice and maize are being cultivated with saline water in Pakistan. 
 
¶23. (U) During his briefing Dr. Altaf said PARC is moving toward dry 
aerobic rice culture, which yields a larger crop than flooded 
planting and saves about 38 percent of the water used in flooded 
planting methods.  However, Dr. Altaf later mentioned to local 
Embassy staff that dry aerobic rice culture is a new technology for 
Pakistan and needs to be further evaluated in farmers' fields. 
 
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$2 Million for Pakistan Wetlands Program in 2010 
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¶24. (U) Federal Secretary for Environment Kamran Lashari has 
budgeted approximately $2 million for the Pakistan Wetlands Program 
in 2010.  During his announcement of the funding, Mr. Lashari 
recognized the Wetlands Program as the Ministry of Environment's 
most successful project. 
 
¶25. (U) The Pakistan Wetlands Program works to conserve the 
biodiversity of the nation's wetlands while also alleviating poverty 
in the region.  The total budget for the project is $12 million and 
is funded by several international partners and NGOs, including the 
Dutch Embassy, Global Environment Facility, United Nations 
Development Program, WWF and the Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund. 
 
¶26. (U) Richard Garstang, the Wetlands Program National Program 
Manager, presented the work plan for the coming year, which will 
focus largely on the implementation of the recently developed 
Pakistan Wetlands Policy, undertaking wetlands surveys to generate 
baseline data, enhancing the capacity of the stakeholders in 
wetlands conservation and management and raising general public 
awareness about wetlands. 
 
PATTERSON