KHYBER: Lack of awareness and lackluster response from the health authorities is resulting in rapid spread of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (Aids) among residents in different parts of Khyber, health experts told Dawn on Tuesday.

They said Khyber district with 313 human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) cases was second after North Waziristan, which tops the list with 383 cases out of the total 1,488 in all the seven merged districts.

Ironically no official function or an awareness session was organised by the health authorities on the International Aids day.

Health experts at the District Headquarters Hospital, Landi Kotal, said that while a number of married women and their children had contracted the deadly disease from their husbands and fathers, who had either lived in some Gulf countries or another city, most of these HIV carriers were reluctant to disclose their disease for fear of being stigmatised.

They said that in most cases the women would approach doctors for conducting medical tests as the men would stay away because they felt ashamed of doing so.

The disease is now spreading rapidly in the entire district and there is a dire need to sensitise the local population to its hazards and ways to prevent themselves from falling victim to it, the experts said.

Doctors said unhygienic lifestyle too could land people in trouble as sex should not be considered as its only transferring agency.

The health experts called for efforts to inform people about preventive measures, including non-infected blood transfusion, use of sterilised surgical equipment during surgery, use of disposable syringes, and sterilised or disposable use of hair cutting equipment at barber’s shops.

They said a majority of locals was not aware about the preventive measures.

They suggested conducting awareness sessions in educational institutions, taking the clerics and elders into confidence for their positive role in spreading valuable information about Aids in mosques, hujras and at jirgas.

District health officer Dr Mustafa Kamal did not respond to Dawn query about his office’s failure to conduct any awareness session and any help or assistance it was providing to the affected people.

Published in Dawn, December 3rd, 2025