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A Review of COVID-19

It has been just four months since the first case of coronavirus was reported in Wuhan, China. The 2019– 2020 coronavirus pandemic  is an ongoing  pandemic  of  coronavirus  disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome . Starting from December 2019, the virus has hopped borders, affecting more than 500,000 marks. To date, there are more than 592,000  confirmed cases of the disease worldwide. Although the vast majority of cases initially originated in China, it is currently the United States with the most reported cases. Italy, Spain, Germany, France, Iran, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland are among the most affected countries. Experts believe the actual number of 2019-nCoV cases may be higher than reported because many patients have been found asymptomatic, while most countries are struggling with inadequate testing. The global mortality rate for COVID-19 is currently 3.4%, which is much higher than the seasonal flu, with only 0.1% of those affected.

Our Journey

Aghaz-E-Nau (AEN) has experience of working with NGOs/CBOs from different cities of Pakistan. AEN carried out capacity building programs for NGOs/CBOs from all over the Pakistan.   Our main focus remained on PWID, FSWs, Inmates and Youth as far as HIV prevention interventions are concerned. We carried out two projects for FSWs funded by CIDA and UNODC respectively. AEN also worked with sex workers (FSWs, MSW/MSM/TGs) to see the effect of different prevention interventions on high risk behavior of sex workers. Our work with sex workers got published in many journals. Given below is a short list of projects, which we carried out starting from 1993 till 2017. AEN started its journey with the establishment of a drug rehabilitation center in 1993 with the help of UNDCP initially and then we received funds from EU, CRS and UNODC. We established a separate drug rehabilitation center for females in 1995 with the help of CIDA. We also developed and executed a successful drug abuse preventi

HIV Prevention for Key Populations

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Services Delivery Package for HIV prevention for key populations with expected Outcome.

HIV Services for Young People

Lack of access to HIV services Many young people report that healthcare workers have negative attitudes towards young people seeking healthcare services, particularly those having sex under the national age of consent, engaging in homosexual relationships or using drugs.   This deters them from seeking contraception, sexually transmitted infection (STI) check-ups and HIV testing. Some young people are also fearful of stigma from their partners, families and communities, making them unwilling to come forward for HIV testing in case their families find out that they are sexually active or living with HIV.   Other sexual and reproductive health services deny access to people who are not married. Gender inequality and HIV vulnerability Of all adolescents aged 15-19 who were diagnosed as HIV-positive during 2012, two-thirds were girls. Globally, young girls are more vulnerable to HIV for a number of reasons, but universally the level of HIV knowledge among girls is less th

Aghaz-e-Nau: HIV Prevention Interventions by Aghaz-e-Nau

Aghaz-e-Nau: HIV Prevention Interventions by Aghaz-e-Nau

HIV Prevention Interventions by Aghaz-e-Nau

Aghaz-e-Nau (AeN) is a non-profit, non-governmental and non-religious organization registered under Societies Act 1860. AeN is working for the treatment, rehabilitation, and prevention of drug abuse problem since 1993. At the same time AeN is working to create awareness about HIV/AIDS amongst the general population and also working tocarry out HIV prevention activities. AeN started working in Gujranwala & Sialkot (Lot-3) from February, 2014 with the following objectives: ·          To halt the HIV prevalence in IDUs at the current level or it should not increase more than 5% above the current level. Specific Objectives: To deliver a defined package of services to all categories of IDUs including: Harm reduction services through syringe exchange Primary healthcare services Management of STIs Sexual and reproductive health education Behavior & communication change services (BCC) HIV Prevention Interventions by Aghaz-e-Nau a)      

HIV Prevention Interventions by Aghaz-e-Nau

Aghaz-e-Nau (AeN) is a non-profit, non-governmental and non-religious organization registered under Societies Act 1860. AeN is working for the treatment, rehabilitation, and prevention of drug abuse problem since 1993. At the same time AeN is working to create awareness about HIV/AIDS amongst the general population and also working tocarry out HIV prevention activities. AeN started working in Gujranwala & Sialkot (Lot-3) from February, 2014 with the following objectives: ·          To halt the HIV prevalence in IDUs at the current level or it should not increase more than 5% above the current level. Specific Objectives: To deliver a defined package of services to all categories of IDUs including: Harm reduction services through syringe exchange Primary healthcare services Management of STIs Sexual and reproductive health education Behavior & communication change services (BCC) HIV Prevention Interventions by Aghaz-e-Nau a)