Karachi: As many as 3,995 children are now living with HIV in Sindh, most of them 1,114 in Larkana while around 2,300 new HIV infections have been detected in the province during the first nine months of 2025, officials said on Tuesday.
The overall number of registered HIV cases has reached nearly 29,000, underscoring an escalating health crisis linked to unsafe medical practices, quackery, and contaminated injections, they added.
The data was presented in a high-level meeting chaired by Sindh Minister for Health and Population Welfare Dr. Azra Fazal Pechuho, who ordered a province-wide crackdown on over 600,000 unqualified practitioners, almost 40 percent of them in Karachi, accused of spreading HIV through unsafe syringes, unscreened blood transfusions, reused medical instruments, and the sale of hospital waste.
Officials said that despite repeated operations, illegal clinics, unregistered blood banks, cannula centers, and barber shops continue to operate across Sindh, contributing to an alarming rise in infections among children and newborns through unsafe deliveries, circumcision, and dental procedures.
According to officials, Pakistan has already detected over 10,000 new HIV cases nationwide this year, many found accidentally during blood or medical screenings. UNAIDS and other UN agencies warn that the total number of reported HIV cases could exceed 40,000 by the end of 2025, with Sindh recording the second-highest number after Punjab.
A presentation from the Sindh HIV Control Programme revealed that the epidemic is growing at an unprecedented pace, with sexual transmission and unsafe medical procedures accounting for most new infections. Of the 28,720 registered cases, 12,157 were linked to sexual transmission, 4,104 to infected blood transfusions, 874 to mother-to-child transmission, and 1,989 to reuse of contaminated syringes.
Another major driver is drug use. About 21.8 percent of people who inject drugs (PWIDs) in Pakistan are HIV-positive. Sindh alone hosts 42,844 PWIDs, part of the 430,000 injecting drug users nationwide, according to UNODC and IBBS Round 6 data.
The minister expressed grave concern that the reuse of syringes, razors, and medical equipment, along with unsafe dental and cosmetic procedures, continues to put thousands at risk. She directed all Deputy Commissioners and SSPs to act immediately against illegal clinics and quacks, emphasizing, “There will be zero tolerance. No political pressure or recommendation will be accepted. If an MNA or MPA tries to intervene, inform me — I will handle them myself.”
Dr. Pechuho also made HIV screening of all pregnant women mandatory to prevent mother-to-child transmission and ordered that sealed healthcare facilities must not be allowed to reopen. Those violating sealing orders should be arrested, she said, adding that the sale of hospital waste must stop immediately to prevent infection among scavenging children.
She stressed that drug users and other vulnerable groups should not be harassed but supported through care and prevention. “They are patients, not criminals,” she said. “The Sindh government stands like a wall against the spread of HIV. No one will be allowed to jeopardize public health.”
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