Islamabad: Rising HIV infections in Pakistan echoed in the Senate on Friday as Senator Humayun Mohmand raised alarm over the growing number of HIV cases across the country and cited investigative media reports during proceedings of the Upper House.
Speaking on the floor of the Senate, Senator Humayun Mohmand referred to reports published in The News by health journalist M. Waqar Bhatti regarding the increasing spread of HIV in Pakistan and the emerging public health concerns linked to unsafe medical practices, weak surveillance and lack of preventive measures.
“Waqar Bhatti, who is associated with The News, has been consistently reporting on HIV cases and public health issues,” the senator remarked while discussing the worsening HIV situation in the country.
Senator Mohmand told the House that more than 14,000 HIV cases were being reported annually in Pakistan, warning that the continued rise in infections reflected the seriousness of the crisis and the failure to effectively contain the spread of the disease.
“The increase in HIV cases is proof that the government is not taking the matter seriously,” he said, urging authorities to immediately treat the issue as a national public health emergency.
The senator stressed that the government needed to adopt a more serious and coordinated approach to tackle HIV transmission, particularly in view of repeated outbreaks, increasing infections among vulnerable populations and reports suggesting spread beyond traditionally high risk groups.
Pakistan has witnessed a steady increase in HIV infections over the last several years, with health experts warning that unsafe injection practices, reuse of syringes, unscreened blood transfusions, unsafe sexual behaviour and lack of awareness are contributing to the spread of the virus.
Official data compiled by health authorities showed that over 14,182 new HIV cases were reported in the country during the previous year, with Punjab contributing the highest number of infections followed by Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Islamabad.
Public health experts have repeatedly warned that Pakistan’s surveillance and prevention systems remain weak despite receiving substantial international funding for HIV prevention and treatment programmes over the years.
Concerns have also been raised in recent months over data sharing gaps, lack of coordinated national surveillance and inadequate monitoring of high risk practices linked to HIV transmission.
The issue has gained increasing attention in recent weeks after senior government officials and lawmakers questioned the effectiveness of HIV prevention programmes and sought greater accountability regarding utilisation of international funding allocated for controlling the epidemic in Pakistan.
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