Islamabad: Federal Health Minister Syed Mustafa Kamal on Monday questioned the utilisation and oversight of Global Fund money for HIV in Pakistan, saying that out of $65 million allocated for the 2024–26 grant cycle, over $61 million has been given to UNDP and Nai Zindagi Trust, while the federal government received only $3.9 million but continues to be blamed for the spread of the virus.
Speaking at a news conference at the National Institute of Health (NIH), the minister said the government has complete details of how its share is being spent, mainly on treatment and programme support, but has no access to information about the bulk of funds given to the two organisations.
Accompanied by Federal Health Secretary Aslam Ghauri, NIH Executive Director Dr Muhammad Salman and Director General Health Dr Abdul Wali Khan, he said the organisations receiving more than 93 percent of the grant neither share data nor operational details with the ministry. “They say the information is sensitive, but then the government is held responsible for HIV transmission,” he said.
Raising concerns about financial transparency, the minister said the government has no mechanism to verify how the $61 million given to UNDP and Nai Zindagi Trust is being utilised. He said the issue would be taken up with the Global Fund mission expected to visit Pakistan, adding that continued transmission despite heavy funding raises serious questions.
He also disclosed that past misuse of Global Fund resources had been pointed out during meetings in Geneva, including alleged embezzlement linked to the procurement of mosquito nets worth around $800,000, and said those responsible would be held accountable after an inquiry.
Kamal said controlling HIV in Pakistan would require better coordination, data sharing and oversight of all funding streams, as the current fragmented system is limiting the impact of interventions.
He said the Global Fund had placed Pakistan under an Additional Safeguard Policy due to alleged irregularities during previous governments, which resulted in most of the funding being routed through NGOs instead of the government. He, however, questioned the effectiveness of this arrangement, saying HIV transmission continues despite heavy spending.
He confirmed that Pakistan reported 14,182 new HIV cases in 2025, detected after screening 374,126 individuals during the year, and maintained that the trend does not indicate any sudden surge. “The cases are stable and reflect increased testing rather than an outbreak,” he said.
Data shared by the minister shows that HIV screening has expanded sharply from 37,944 people in 2020 to over 374,000 in 2025, while the number of testing centres increased from 49 to 97. He said the country currently has around 95 ART centres, which would be expanded to 160 at the district level.
Despite the increase in testing and treatment facilities, he acknowledged gaps in coverage, saying that of around 84,000 registered HIV patients, about 61,000 are receiving treatment while nearly 23,000 are not on therapy. He warned that untreated individuals could continue to spread the infection, adding that patients on treatment do not transmit the virus.
Referring to the overall burden, Kamal said the estimated number of people living with HIV in Pakistan could be around 369,000, putting prevalence at about 0.1 percent.
He also addressed recent reports about clusters of cases, rejecting claims of any new outbreak in Taunsa and saying the cases being cited relate to 2024. On Islamabad, he said 618 HIV cases were registered over the past 15 months, but only around 210 belonged to residents of the capital, while the rest were referred cases from other regions. “There is no outbreak in Islamabad,” he said.
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