Islamabad, Jan 25 (IANS) As many as 3,995 registered HIV-positive youngsters in Pakistan’s Sindh, and greater than 100 new circumstances reported in Karachi in 2025, expose systemic failure of an infection management and regulation, a report has said.
Practically 4,000 youngsters in Sindh dwelling with HIV, a lot of them not contaminated at beginning or via private behaviour however in healthcare services the place sufferers endure remedy, making negligence against the law, based on a report in Pakistan’s main day by day, The Specific Tribune.
The Specific Tribune report said, “The Pakistan Medical Affiliation’s (PMA) ‘high-level alert’ on the alarming rise in paediatric HIV circumstances ought to jolt authorities out of their ordinary inertia. The numbers alone are damning: 3,995 registered HIV-positive youngsters in Sindh and over 100 new circumstances reported in Karachi in 2025. These numbers level to a systemic collapse of an infection management and regulation.”
This isn’t the primary warning for Pakistan, because the 2019 Ratodero tragedy, the place tons of of kids had been contaminated, was thought of to be a turning level, triggering investigation and guarantees of reform. Nonetheless, six years later, PMA is compelled to disclose the rising variety of HIV circumstances amongst youngsters.
The report in The Specific Tribune mentioned, “What makes this disaster notably disturbing is that it’s largely preventable. Unsafe injections, reused syringes, unregulated blood banks and unlawful clinics run by quacks proceed to function with impunity. Incapability — or unwillingness — to implement minimal requirements has turned clinics into websites of contagion. The PMA rightly warns that that is now not only a medical emergency however a socio-economic disaster within the making.”
In December final yr, one other report said that the deepening HIV disaster in Pakistan isn’t solely a medical emergency but in addition demonstrates institutional rot and showcases the results of years of neglect, the failure to implement primary well being requirements and the human value of corruption. In line with regional information, Pakistan, with a pointy improve in HIV circumstances, is ranked second amongst nations within the Asia-Pacific, a report has said.
The surprising statistics spotlight using contaminated syringes, unregulated blood transfusions, pretend medical doctors and violations of medical guidelines. Well being officers have reported 3,995 registered HIV-positive youngsters in Sindh, a determine that solely represents documented circumstances, based on a report in European Instances.
In line with the information, greater than 600,000 pretend medical doctors practise in Pakistan, with 40 per cent of them primarily based in Karachi. The determine demonstrates the deepening medical malpractice disaster in Pakistan. With inadequate oversight, these pretend medical doctors function freely, reusing syringes, mishandling blood, and conducting unsafe procedures that additional improve the unfold of HIV.
“Pakistan’s healthcare system, lengthy burdened by underfunding and mismanagement, has repeatedly did not uphold international customary working procedures (SOPs) for an infection prevention and management. The World Well being Organisation (WHO) and UNAIDS have established clear protocols for protected blood transfusions, syringe disposal, and affected person administration,” the European Instances report said.
The few HIV remedy centres which are current in Pakistan face shortages of testing kits, antiretroviral medicines, and skilled employees, leading to prognosis and remedy delays. Sufferers usually endure as they’ve to maneuver from one hospital to a different in quest of primary care.
“Pakistan’s deepening HIV disaster is greater than a medical emergency; it’s a reflection of institutional rot. It exposes the results of years of neglect, the failure to implement primary well being requirements, and the human value of corruption. The tragedy of practically 4,000 HIV-positive youngsters in Sindh, the epidemic of quack medical doctors, and the routine use of contaminated medical instruments collectively kind a damning indictment of the state’s indifference. This isn’t a narrative of a virus spreading silently; it’s a story of systemic failure that permits the virus to thrive,” the report added.
–IANS
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 As many as 3,995 registered HIV-positive children in Pakistan's Sindh, and more than 100 new cases reported in Karachi in 2025, expose systemic failure of infection control and regulation, a report has stated.){kind=link}