ISLAMABAD: Pakistan registered 3,900 children with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) between January 2025 and June 2026, the health ministry informed the National Assembly.
Sindh recorded 1,915 registrations, followed by Punjab with 1,765. Together, the two provinces accounted for 3,680 children in the national total.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa registered 139 children, Balochistan 46 and Islamabad 30. Azad Jammu and Kashmir recorded four registrations, while Gilgit-Baltistan recorded one.
Federal Health Minister Syed Mustafa Kamal provided the figures in written parliamentary replies addressing questions from Dr Sharmila Faruqui and Nuzhat Sadiq.
The figures cover registrations during the reporting period, not necessarily infections acquired during those dates.
According to the ministry’s latest programme overview, an estimated 417,214 people were living with HIV nationwide. Authorities had registered 92,148 people, while 67,878 were receiving antiretroviral treatment.
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Treatment services have expanded to 113 centres across Pakistan, including 15 added in Sindh this year. Meanwhile, HIV testing increased from 37,944 people in 2020 to 374,126 in 2025.
However, longer-term estimates show rising transmission. World Health Organization (WHO) and Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) figures cited by the ministry put annual new infections at about 48,000 in 2024, compared with 16,000 in 2010. Those estimates cover the wider population and are separate from the child-registration figures.
In an earlier assessment, WHO and UNAIDS identified unsafe injection and blood-management practices, gaps in infection prevention, stigma and limited access to services among factors contributing to Pakistan’s expanding epidemic.
The ministry outlined measures including pre-surgical screening, contact tracing and screening at 14 points of entry.
A national case-based HIV dashboard was operating, although integration of Punjab’s separate information system remained incomplete.
During an August meeting, Kamal had directed authorities to strengthen pre-surgical screening and address infection-control weaknesses. He called for nutritional, psychosocial and welfare support alongside clinical treatment for children living with HIV.
The government is also pursuing a phased transition to syringes designed to prevent reuse. The parliamentary reply lists January 1, 2027, as the effective date for restrictions on conventional syringes with capacities up to 10cc.
(With additional input from The News and Business Recorder)
