ISLAMABAD: Director General Health Dr Abdul Wali on Monday said eight out of 10 people affected by Aids were not aware of their status in Pakistan.

He was speaking at an event held in connection with the World Aids Day marked under the theme “Overcoming disruption, transforming the AIDS response”.

The event was organised by Common Management Unit (CMU) for Aids, TB and Malaria, Ministry of Health, in collaboration with UNFPA, UNAIDS, ACT International and Roche.

Dr Wali, who is also the national coordinator CMU, said according to estimated data there were 350,000 people living with HIV in Pakistan.

He said over the last decade, Pakistan had increased eightfold the number of persons living with HIV who received antiretroviral therapy (ART) - from around 6,500 in 2013 to 55,500 in 2024 - thanks to the joint efforts by the government, UN entities and partners. The country has also increased the number of antiretroviral therapy centres from 13 in 2010 to 96 in 2025, he said.

Special Secretary Ministry of Health Mohammad Aslam Ghouri said despite progress, in 2024, 16pc of patents who knew their status were on treatment, and 7pc had achieved viral load suppression in Pakistan. Over 1,100 AIDS-related deaths were reported in 2024, he said.

13,000 diabetic children die every year

Meanwhile, health experts on Monday said an estimated 26,000 children and teenagers developed Type 1 diabetes in Pakistan every year but 13,000 or nearly half of them did not survive due to delayed diagnosis and the unavailability of life saving insulin.

This information as shared at an awareness ceremony on Type 1 diabetes where an agreement was signed between Meethi Zindagi, a non-profit working with insulin dependent patients, and the Discovering Diabetes Project run by Pharm Evo to improve early detection, data collection and access to treatment for children with the disease.

Dr Sana Ajmal, founder and chief executive of Meethi Zindagi, said Type 1 diabetes was widely misunderstood in Pakistan and was often confused with Type 2 diabetes, which typically affects adults.

“Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which the body’s own defence system destroys insulin producing cells in the pancreas,” she explained. “Once this happens, a child or teenager becomes dependent on insulin for the rest of their life. Without insulin, they simply cannot survive.”

Dr Ajmal, who herself lives with Type 1 diabetes, said lack of awareness was the biggest killer. “Most children with Type 1 diabetes are not diagnosed until they collapse. Parents do not recognise the warning signs and many doctors also fail to suspect it early,” she said while addressing the event.

She identified extreme tiredness, rapid weight loss, excessive thirst and frequent urination as the four key symptoms that should immediately raise alarm.

Mohsin Shiraz, project manager of the Discovering Diabetes initiative at Pharm Evo, said the company had been running a digital diabetes awareness chatbot, Diabot, for the past five years which had helped hundreds of thousands of people with Type 2 diabetes understand their condition and seek treatment. “Recently, we started receiving queries from undiagnosed Type 1 diabetes patients and parents looking for urgent guidance,” he said.

Published in Dawn, December 16th, 2025