ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Medical Association (PMA), on National HIV Testing Day, has called for an urgent, coordinated nationwide effort to expand confidential HIV testing, eliminate social and institutional stigma, and fix healthcare infrastructure.

The representative body of medical fraternity, PMA has highlighted a dramatic escalation in the crisis: over 84,000 cases are registered nationwide, but experts estimate the true burden could be as high as 369,000 undetected cases.

In 2025 alone, 14,000 new cases were reported. Alarmingly, poor infection control and unsafe injection practices are driving localised outbreaks among families and children.

In the first quarter of 2026, Sindh province recorded 894 new cases, including 329 children. Nationally, annual pediatric infections have surged from 530 in 2010 to over 1,800.

“We need to work significantly harder at an institutional level now that our children are being infected and our younger generation is suffering. It is absolutely time to take decisive action and get rid of HIV once and for all,” PMA Secretary General Dr Abdul Ghafoor Shoro said.

“To combat the epidemic, the PMA urges federal and provincial health authorities to immediately implement four key measures: provide free, rapid, and fully confidential HIV diagnostic kits across all primary and secondary public healthcare facilities, launch public awareness campaigns to dismantle social taboos and normalise testing as routine preventative healthcare,” he said.

“Equip medical practitioners with diagnostic infrastructure, specialised training and administrative protections to deliver non-discriminatory care. Ensure high-risk populations have seamless pathways to counselling, treatment, and modern biomedical prevention strategies,” he said.

The PMA has reaffirmed its commitment to advocating for healthcare funding, institutional transparency, and policy frameworks that protect both patient dignity and medical professional safety.

Published in Dawn, June 28th, 2026