Seminar voices alarm over rising HIV cases in Pakistan

KARACHI: Participants at a seminar on Saturday expressed concern over the rise in HIV cases in Pakistan, particularly in Sindh and Punjab, and urged the government to increase domestic funding for prevention, testing, treatment and care services to reduce reliance on external donors and make the national response sustainable.

The event, titled Community dialogue on increasing HIV/AIDS cases in Pakistan: causes, challenges and way forward, was organised by the Bridge Consultants Foundation, a non-profit organisation working in public health. It brought together representatives of government departments, healthcare institutions, civil society groups, development partners, academia, the media, community members and people living with HIV.

Speakers at the seminar also stressed the need for stricter enforcement of infection prevention and control measures in healthcare settings and for expanding HIV testing and counselling services. They said recent outbreaks among children in Ratodero, Mirpurkhas, Nawabshah, Karachi, Hyderabad, Multan, Tunsa, D.G. Khan and Sargodha had exposed serious shortcomings in infection control practices and posed a major public health challenge.

Participants noted that while a number of high-burden countries had reduced new HIV infections through broader prevention and treatment programmes, Pakistan continued to see an upward trend in transmission.

Dr Syed Sharaf Ali Shah, who heads the Bridge Consultants Foundation, cited World Health Organisation figures during the discussion. "According to the WHO data, the estimated new HIV infections have risen from 16,000 in 2010 to 48,000 in 2024, making Pakistan one of the fastest-growing HIV epidemics in the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region," he said.

He added that UNAIDS estimates suggested a large share of people living with HIV remained undiagnosed, indicating the true number of new infections could be higher. He also pointed to a significant gap between the estimated number of people living with HIV and those diagnosed and enrolled in treatment.

Challenges highlighted

According to the seminar participants, the factors driving the growing epidemic include limited testing and counselling services, weak HIV surveillance, poor infection prevention and control in public and private health facilities, unsafe injection practices, stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV and key populations, inadequate access to quality treatment, weak regulation of the informal healthcare sector, insufficient domestic financing and low public awareness about prevention and treatment.

After extensive discussions, participants agreed that HIV testing services needed to be expanded immediately and that routine testing should be promoted among people at risk, including key populations, spouses of people living with HIV, tuberculosis patients, pregnant women, patients with sexually transmitted infections and other vulnerable groups.

They also recommended wider community-based HIV testing, provider-initiated testing, voluntary counselling and testing services, broader access to HIV self-testing, and the integration of antiretroviral treatment services into primary healthcare facilities. Participants further called for stronger public-private partnerships through the involvement of general practitioners and private healthcare providers in HIV care and treatment.

Call for coordinated response

The seminar said HIV should not be treated only as a health issue, but also as a wider social and development challenge that required a coordinated, multi-sectoral response. Participants called on the federal and provincial governments, development partners, healthcare providers, civil society organisations, the media and affected communities to work together to strengthen prevention, widen access to services and protect the rights and dignity of people living with HIV.

They said the government should put in place a comprehensive action plan to encourage safe injection practices, reduce unnecessary use of injections, regulate unregistered healthcare providers, promote auto-disable syringes and ensure the safe disposal of used syringes and medical waste. They also underlined the need to address stigma and discrimination through awareness campaigns, sensitisation of healthcare workers, community engagement and enforcement of non-discriminatory practices in healthcare settings.

The dialogue ended with what participants described as a collective commitment to back evidence-based interventions and stronger partnerships aimed at curbing HIV transmission and improving community health across Pakistan.

Those present included Dr Zulfiqar Ali Gorar, National CMU coordinator from Islamabad; Dr Zubair Abdullah, national manager of the HIV Control Programme; Dr Buzdar from CDC 1 HIV Sindh; Dr Ali Raza Kandhro of CDC HIV Sindh; Prof Dr Sten H Vermund; Dr Rafique Khanani; and Dr Fatima Mir and Dr Faisal of Aga Khan University.