New Delhi, July 28 (IANS) Hundreds of Pakistani families protested at Karachi Press Club demanding accountability after a surge in paediatric HIV infections allegedly due to unsafe medical practices at government clinics, a new report has said.
At least nine children have died and hundreds infected due to HIV infection, the report from Pakistan Observer said, blaming syringe reuse, contaminated vials and unsafe blood transfusions as causes of the disease transmission.
The World Health Organization and UNAIDS warned that Pakistan faces one of Asia’s fastest-growing HIV epidemics, along with the country leading globally in hepatitis C cases, with around 10 million affected.
“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 per cent have HIV-negative mothers showing unsafe healthcare is to blame,” the report said.
Protesters called the outbreaks a preventable, man‑made epidemic and health specialists urged the government to declare a national health emergency as the spread of HIV has surged by 200 per cent in two decades, as per the WHO.
The Sindh High Court (SHC) has issued notices to the Sindh Secretary of Health and the provincial police chief, demanding detailed reports on the outbreak and possible medical negligence. Health Minister Mustafa Kamal said Pakistan has 84,000 registered HIV cases, with many untracked, and the report mentioned experts saying the number is much higher.
A BBC report in April mentioned 331 children in Taunsa, Punjab falling victim to HIV between November 2024 and October 2025, while undercover filming revealed the outbreak was linked to a hospital that used reused syringes on children.
Punjab authorities initially promised a crackdown, but months later reports revealed that unsafe practices that threatened children’s lives continued.
Global Fund (GF), a partnership and financing organisation that combats HIV provided over 90 per cent of its targeted funds to Pakistan invested more than $1 billion over two decades in the country.
“Outbreaks in Taunsa, Kot Momin, Mirpurkhas, Nawabshah, Karachi, Hyderabad, Multan and D.G. Khan point to systemic failures in infection prevention and control,” the report noted.
Health experts and doctors argued that provincial health mandates disregard disease prevention and critically low health funding, consistently under one percent of GDP, makes infection control impossible.
—IANS
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