Rising paediatric HIV cases highlight unsafe practices in Pakistan’s healthcare system: Report
Islamabad, April 20 (IANS/WISHAVWARTA) The rise in paediatric HIV cases in Pakistan’s Karachi is the consequence of a healthcare system that continues to tolerate unsafe practices despite knowing their cost. Figures from the Sindh Infectious Diseases Hospital and Research Centre and Indus Hospital point to a disturbing escalation as admissions of HIV-positive children have increased within a year, with many of them aged below five years.
“The pattern of transmission is even more alarming. Only a small fraction of these children were born to HIV-positive mothers, while a clear majority have gotten it through healthcare-related exposure at hospitals, primarily through reusable syringes. Unsafe practices have long persisted, often enabled by weak oversight and, at times, by a troubling preference for injections and drips over safer oral medication. Memories of the Ratodero HIV outbreak should have ensured that such negligence never resurfaced. That tragedy exposed deep cracks in infection control,” an editorial in Pakistan’s leading daily The Express Tribune mentioned.
At the time, committees were established, recommendations were drafted and assurances were made. However, those measures were not implemented or taken seriously enough to stop recurrence, the newspaper mentioned.
It urged that an immediate and independent investigation into the concerned hospitals must be conducted beyond surface-level inquiries and examine procurement chains, sterilisation protocols, disposal mechanisms and blood screening systems. Screening must be conducted, particularly of children, who may have been exposed through medical procedures. Contact tracing and long-term treatment will be important for preventing further spread and managing existing cases.
The Sindh Infectious Diseases Hospital and Research Centre admitted 10 HIV positive children in 2024, and in 2025 their numbers rose to over 70. 30 children with HIV positive status were admitted to the hospital this year, another leading Pakistani daily Dawn reported.
Meanwhile, 144 HIV positive patients were reported at the Indus Hospital in 2024, and in 2025, the numbers rose to 176. Additionally, 69 HIV patients have been reported in the first quarter of this year alone at this facility.
“There has been an alarming surge in paediatric cases registered at our hospital. Since August 2025 to date, 72 children less than 14 years of age have been registered, of which 68 per cent are under five years of age,” said Samreen Sarfaraz, Chair of Infection Control Services and consultant infectious diseases at the Indus Hospital.
According to Sarfaraz, unsafe healthcare practices are the reason for the majority of their registered paediatric HIV cases. Reuse of syringes, needles, intravenous drip sets and cannulas, use of contaminated or improperly sterilised medical instruments and transfusion of unscreened blood are major causes of HIV transmission in the healthcare settings.
