Islamabad: The Ministry of National Health Services has constituted a 15-member technical working group on HIV and hepatitis C on the directives of the Prime Minister’s Office, assigning it to examine outbreaks, healthcare-linked transmission, surveillance gaps, blood safety and progress on prevention and treatment efforts.
The ministry issued the notification on August 11 in pursuance of directions conveyed by the Prime Minister’s Office on July 6. The group’s first meeting has been scheduled for August 19 at the federal health ministry in Islamabad.
Punjab Chief Minister’s Adviser on Health Maj Gen (retd) Dr Azhar Mehmood Kayani will head the group, while Director General Health Dr Abdul Wali Khan will serve as its member-secretary.
Other members include public health specialist Dr Zafar Mirza, paediatric HIV specialist Dr Fatima Mir, infectious disease specialist Dr Syed Faisal Mahmood, hepatologist Dr Huma Qureshi, blood safety experts Dr Hasan Abbas Zaheer and Brig Dr Nuzhat Mushahid, epidemiologists Dr Amjad Mahmood and Dr Adnan Khan, and other specialists.
The ministry has tasked the group with providing technical guidance for implementation of HIV and hepatitis prevention and control policies, reviewing progress against timelines and identifying operational and technical bottlenecks.
It will review outbreak trends, surveillance findings and indicators of healthcare-associated transmission, besides advising authorities on infection prevention and control, blood safety, healthcare quality standards and coordination among provinces and relevant agencies.
The group will submit structured monthly progress reports and recommendations to the health ministry and the Prime Minister’s Office. It may also co-opt additional experts where required.
Its formation comes amid mounting concern over HIV infections among children, particularly in Sindh, and the challenge of finding and treating millions of people who may be living with hepatitis C.
Pakistan has more than 7,500 children living with HIV, while over 62,000 people are receiving antiretroviral treatment through 99 centres nationwide. Estimates suggest that about 370,000 people in the country may be living with HIV, indicating a significant gap between the estimated burden and people diagnosed and enrolled in treatment.
Official data showed that 1,748 children were diagnosed with HIV in 2025, including 1,186 in Sindh. In the first three months of 2026, 402 paediatric cases were reported nationwide, of which 296 were in Sindh.
Sindh recorded 729 paediatric HIV cases from January to June this year, accounting for more than 90 per cent of the 805 cases reported across Pakistan excluding Punjab during the period.
The issue has drawn particular attention after HIV-positive cases were detected during screening at two Sindh Employees’ Social Security Institution hospitals in Karachi. A Senate panel was recently informed that 141 people had tested positive, including 120 at Valika Hospital, where more than 10,500 people were screened, and 21 at Landhi Hospital.
Pakistan is also attempting to scale up its hepatitis C elimination programme, which requires mass screening, confirmatory PCR testing, treatment and prevention of new infections through safer injections, blood screening and infection-control measures.
In Islamabad, the Prime Minister’s Hepatitis C Elimination Programme screened 28,691 people during its first two months, around 1.4 per cent of the capital’s estimated target population of 2.1 million. Initial screening found 2,218 people reactive for hepatitis C, while 682 were confirmed through PCR testing and 449 had started treatment.
The new working group will now be expected to help align federal and provincial efforts against two infections whose control depends not only on treatment availability but also on stronger surveillance, safer healthcare practices and timely action on outbreaks.