KARACHI: Expressing serious concern over the growing numbers of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) cases in the country, the Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) has called for immediate government steps to tackle the emerging public health crisis.

“The provincial virus graph is climbing dangerously. Sindh now has 3,995 registered HIV-positive children. Recently, a single hospital in Karachi became the scene of a health disaster after over 15 children were diagnosed with HIV, pointing to massive lapses in infection control,” the association stated.

Last year, it pointed out, Balochistan recorded 462 cases, raising registered patients to 2,823, though estimates suggest the actual figure is between 7,000 and 9,000.

Highlighting key challenges, the association identified critical bottlenecks and systemic failures, describing them as the government’s failure to respond adequately to the crisis.

“The Global Fund has dropped its assistance by $27 million. These funding cuts threaten to cause severe disruptions in timely diagnoses and prevention support, while the National AIDS Control Programme (NACP) is currently at a standstill due to insufficient resources,” it stated.

The association also called for addressing unsafe medical practices. The association warned that if the HIV programme’s coverage fell by half, an additional 1.1m children could acquire HIV, and another 820,000 could die of AIDS-related complications by 2040.

It demanded that the government step up to fill the void left by the $27m drop in foreign donor assistance.

Published in Dawn, December 3rd, 2025