A total of 1,079 cases of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) have been reported each month in Pakistan.
According to the Ministry of National Health Services, during the first nine months of 2024, a total of 9,713 individuals tested positive for the deadly virus.
If this trend continues, the total number of HIV cases for this year could surpass 12,950, a stark rise from the 12,731 cases recorded in all of 2023.
HIV in Pakistan
According to statistics, 69.4 per cent men tested HIV positive. Similarly, 20.5 per cent women, 4.1 per cent transgender and 6 per cent children tested postive for AIDS.
Punjab recorded the highest number of new infections, with 5,691 cases detected between January and September 2024, averaging 632 new cases each month.
Sindh followed with 2,383 new cases, averaging 265 monthly, while Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) reported 926 cases, translating to an average of 103 cases per month.
Balochistan recorded 329 new cases, while Islamabad and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) reported 378 and 10 cases respectively.
Recently, an investigation team has raised serious allegations against the doctors and staff at Nishtar Hospital in Multan. The team claimed that their negligence led to the infection of patients with HIV/AIDS, particularly affecting numerous kidney patients undergoing dialysis.
When integrated, HIV and other health services can improve health outcomes, strengthen health systems, and support progress towards universal health coverage. Integration across sectors has also been a feature of HIV responses, with the advancement of gender equality and women’s empowerment, workplace interventions, humanitarian programmes, and social protection schemes being linked progressively with HIV-related interventions.
