PMA Urges Immediate Action to Contain HIV Outbreaks Across Sindh
Karachi: The Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) has called for urgent government intervention to contain the growing HIV outbreaks in Karachi and other parts of Sindh, warning that continued inaction could lead to a major humanitarian crisis.
In a statement, the PMA described Sindh’s public healthcare system as being in a state of severe decline due to negligence, weak governance, and poor oversight. The association revealed that 73 children tested positive for HIV at Chandka Medical College Children’s Hospital in June 2026, while at least 80 paediatric HIV cases have also been confirmed at Karachi’s Valika Hospital.
According to the PMA, the outbreaks are largely linked to unsafe medical practices, including the repeated use of syringes by unqualified practitioners, inadequate blood screening, and institutional failures in infection control.
The association urged the government to restore direct control over public hospitals, immediately replenish stocks of medicines for HIV, Hepatitis, TB, and cancer patients, deploy diagnostic kits to affected districts, and launch transparent investigations into medical negligence. It also demanded a zero-tolerance crackdown on quacks, illegal laboratories, and unlicensed blood banks while increasing emergency funding for public hospitals.
