KARACHI Press Club came into the limelight once again as scores of families protested against the widespread transmission of HIV among their children, demanding accountability from the authorities. At least nine children died and hundreds were infected with HIV due to unsafe practices at a government hospital. Parents described their lives as unbearable, citing their children’s suffering and the social stigma that has torn families apart and denied children access to education. The tragedy has been widely condemned as a preventable, man-made epidemic. Health specialists demand declaration of country-wide health emergency as spread of HIV has surged to 200 percent in two decades as per WHO. A major reason behind such increase in numbers is poor management of health system. The Sindh High Court (SHC) issued notices to the Sindh Secretary of Health and the provincial police chief, demanding detailed, para-wise reports regarding the outbreak and alleged gross medical negligence. Health Minister Mustafa Kamal says Pakistan has 84,000 registered HIV cases, with many untracked. Experts believe the real number is much higher. The epidemic worsens due to poor infection control and unsafe syringe reuse, causing frequent outbreaks—even in young children after clinic visits.
The World Health Organization and UNAIDS warn that Pakistan faces one of Asia’s fastest-growing HIV epidemics. At the same time, Pakistan leads globally in hepatitis C cases, with around 10 million affected. These intertwined crises stem from unsafe medical practices like syringe reuse, contaminated vials and risky blood transfusions, putting millions at risk every day. Worldwide, HIV infections and AIDS deaths are falling, mostly affecting high-risk groups like drug users and sex workers. But Pakistan faces a shocking reality: many young children are infected. Over 90% have HIV-negative mothers showing unsafe healthcare is to blame. The 2019 Ratodero outbreak, with nearly 1,000 infected kids, revealed how unsafe injections sparked this crisis.
In April 2025, the BBC reported that 331 children in Taunsa, Punjab, had tested positive for HIV between November 2024 and October 2025. Undercover filming confirmed that the outbreak was linked to a hospital where children were being injected with reused syringes. Although Punjab authorities initially promised a crackdown, months later BBC Eye Investigations revealed that unsafe practices continued, putting children’s lives at risk. In its rebuttal, the Punjab Health Department insisted that all cases cited in the report had already been recorded in December 2024 and early 2025 and that action had been taken. Yet the persistence of unsafe medical practices underscored the gap between official assurances and the grim reality on the ground. The Global Fund (GF), a partnership and financing organization that raises and invests funds to fight HIV, tuberculosis and malaria has been providing over 90 per cent of funds meant for combating HIV in Pakistan. It has allocated $65 million under its 2024-26 programme and invested more than $1 billion over two decades. Yet outbreaks in Taunsa, Kot Momin, Mirpurkhas, Nawabshah, Karachi, Hyderabad, Multan and D.G. Khan point to systemic failures in infection prevention and control. In April 2026, three hospitals in Karachi reported a dramatic rise in paediatric HIV cases, with numbers continuing to grow.
Members of the Pakistan Islamic Medical Association (PIMA), the Pakistan Paediatric Association-Sindh (PPA-Sindh), Pakistan Society of Physicians (PSP), Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases Society of Pakistan (MMIDSP) and Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) have expressed serious concern on the rising HIV cases and demanded that the government declare a national health emergency over the “dangerous spread” of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) outbreaks at healthcare facilities in the country. They argue that disease prevention is missing from provincial health mandates and that critically low health funding, consistently under one percent of GDP, makes infection control impossible. In the first quarter of 2026 alone, Sindh recorded 894 new HIV cases, including 329 children. Annual infections among children aged 0-14 have risen from 530 in 2010 to over 1,800 today. In 2023, more than 1,100 children died of AIDS-related complications, a direct consequence of reused syringes and unsafe practices. Without urgent intervention, experts warn, the number of HIV cases could rise to 12.6 million by 2030. Unlike many countries where HIV cases and deaths are declining, Pakistan’s epidemic is expanding. Recently it has come to light that out of 84,000 registered cases, nearly 20,000 patients who began treatment are now “missing,” raising concerns about follow-up, counselling and retention. Continued availability of banned syringes, weak monitoring of blood banks, lack of awareness campaigns, persistent stigma and patient dropouts all compound the crisis.
The persistence of blood-borne infections reflects a broader governance failure. Successive governments have neglected health, particularly primary care, as evidenced by chronically low spending. Pakistan’s public health challenges deliberate failures of governance, accountability and enforcement. The unchecked spread of HIV represents an immediate national emergency, one that threatens social stability, economic productivity and development. It must be recognized as a matter of national security, demanding political urgency and financial commitment. Despite the scale of the HIV epidemic in Pakistan, manufacturers reportedly continue producing reusable syringes, mislabelling them as auto-disable. This is a deliberate act of endangerment that perpetuates the epidemic. Unless Pakistan enforces infection-control protocols, invests in healthcare infrastructure and confronts stigma, the epidemic will worsen. The tragedies unfolding in Karachi, Taunsa and Ratodero were preventable. Pakistan’s HIV epidemic is man-made and only decisive governance can stop it from spiralling further.
— The writer is an educator, based in Sindh.
