Karachi: Accusing federal and provincial health authorities of “criminally hiding the actual HIV burden,” infectious diseases experts and leading medical bodies on Saturday warned that lack of transparency and weak prevention efforts are allowing the virus to spread rapidly across Pakistan, including among children and low risk populations.
Speaking at a joint news conference at the Karachi Press Club, representatives of the Pakistan Islamic Medical Association, Pakistan Paediatric Association and other physicians’ groups demanded that HIV data be made publicly available on a daily or weekly basis, similar to the reporting model adopted during Covid-19, to enable clinicians, researchers and policymakers to respond effectively.
They alleged that national and provincial AIDS control programmes have largely remained limited to diagnosing and treating patients, with little meaningful focus on prevention, which they said is the main reason the infection is “spreading like fire” in the country.
Infectious diseases expert Dr Samreen Sarfaraz of the Indus Hospital and Health Network said repeated requests by clinicians for access to HIV data had gone unanswered, leaving frontline doctors in the dark about the scale and transmission patterns of the disease.
“How can we control or treat HIV when we don’t even know who is infected and how the virus is spreading in society?” she asked, calling for immediate public sharing of disaggregated data.
Citing global trends, she noted that while HIV incidence is declining in many parts of the world, Pakistan continues to report a rising trajectory and accounts for a significant share of new infections in the World Health Organization’s Eastern Mediterranean region. She termed this a “failure of the AIDS control programmes and health authorities.”
Dr Samreen identified unsafe medical practices as the primary drivers of the epidemic, including the reuse of syringes and needles, use of multi dose vials, and poor infection prevention and control standards, particularly affecting children. She called for a national action plan on injection safety backed by strong political commitment.
Renowned paediatric infectious diseases expert Prof Fatima Mir of the Aga Khan University Hospital said that although the government collects HIV data, it is neither properly analysed nor shared with experts who can interpret it.
“Even clinicians cannot make sense of raw numbers. This is the job of epidemiologists and public health experts, but it can only happen when the data is not locked in safeboxes,” she said.
She warned that the absence of prevention programmes and data driven interventions has led to an alarming rise in paediatric HIV cases, adding that managing HIV in children is “far more complex and challenging” than in adults.
Prof Mir cautioned that even a marginal increase in prevalence could have devastating consequences. “If prevalence doubles from 0.1 percent to 0.2 percent, it will become unmanageable for the health system,” she said, urging authorities to seek guidance from independent experts rather than relying solely on bureaucratic channels.
She also criticised the lack of transparency in outbreak investigations, saying findings are rarely made public to help prevent future incidents, and stressed that the media should be treated as an ally in the public health response rather than an adversary.
Central President PIMA Prof Atif Hafeez Siddiqui said a large number of people in Pakistan remain unaware of their HIV status due to inadequate screening, calling it “one of the biggest tragedies” driving silent transmission.
Dr Syed Ahmer Hamid, President PIMA Karachi, described the rising number of HIV cases among children as extremely worrying and urged the government to treat the situation as a top national priority before it worsens further.
Prof Asma Naseem and other experts reiterated that reuse of syringes and unsafe medical procedures remain key contributors to HIV transmission in children, demanding that injection safety be declared a national emergency.
Dr Waseem Jamalvi, President of the Pakistan Paediatric Association Sindh, pointed to widespread lapses in healthcare delivery, including contaminated equipment, unsafe blood transfusions, quackery and poor regulation of private clinics, as major sources of infection.
Prof Qaiser Jamal said an estimated 350,000 people are living with HIV in Pakistan, warning that the number is likely to rise if urgent corrective measures are not taken. He noted that hundreds of new cases continue to emerge in Sindh, many involving children.
The experts unanimously called for declaring HIV a public health emergency, launching large scale screening programmes, enforcing single use of disposable syringes, auditing health facilities, ensuring free testing and treatment, and initiating nationwide awareness campaigns.