KARACHI: The Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) has urged the federal and Sindh governments to take immediate and decisive action to contain the growing HIV outbreaks in Karachi and other parts of the province, warning that continued inaction could lead to a major humanitarian crisis.
In a statement, the PMA described Sindh’s healthcare system as facing an unprecedented crisis, attributing the situation to administrative failures, inadequate planning, and weak governance. The association criticized the outsourcing of public health facilities to external organisations, arguing that the state must assume direct responsibility for providing accessible and quality healthcare.
The PMA expressed particular concern over rising paediatric HIV infections. It said that 73 children tested positive for HIV in June 2026 at Chandka Medical College Children’s Hospital, most of them between five months and eight years of age and belonging to Khairpur. The association also cited official reports indicating around 80 paediatric HIV cases at Karachi’s Valika Hospital, linking the outbreaks to unsafe medical practices, the reuse of syringes, inadequate blood screening, and poor infection control.
The association further highlighted shortages of essential medicines for Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, Tuberculosis, and cancer in public hospitals, saying the lack of life-saving drugs has left vulnerable patients without adequate treatment.
The PMA called for transparent investigations into institutional negligence, stricter action against unqualified medical practitioners, stronger regulation of laboratories and blood banks, immediate restoration of medicine supplies, enhanced HIV diagnostic capacity, and increased investment in public healthcare infrastructure and staffing.
