In Islamabad, on National HIV Testing Day, the Pakistan Medical Association called for an urgent, coordinated nationwide push to expand confidential HIV testing, eradicate social and institutional stigma, and improve healthcare infrastructure.
The PMA, representing the medical community, warned of a sharp rise in the crisis, with over 84,000 reported cases nationwide and experts suggesting the actual number may be as high as 369,000 undetected.
In 2025 alone, 14,000 new cases were reported, highlighting concerning surges linked to inadequate infection control and unsafe injection practices that are fueling localized outbreaks, especially among families and children.
During the first quarter of 2026, Sindh province recorded 894 new cases, including 329 children. Nationally, pediatric infections have risen dramatically, from 530 in 2010 to more than 1,800 annually.
Dr. Abdul Ghafoor Shoro, Secretary General of the PMA, emphasized the urgency: “We must act decisively at the institutional level now that children are being infected and our younger generation is suffering; it is time to eradicate HIV once and for all.”
He urged federal and provincial health authorities to promptly implement four key measures: distribute free, rapid, and fully confidential HIV diagnostic kits across all primary and secondary public health facilities, and launch public awareness campaigns to dispel social taboos and normalize testing as routine preventive care.
He called for equipping medical practitioners with diagnostic infrastructure, specialized training, and administrative safeguards to provide non‑discriminatory care, and for ensuring high‑risk populations have seamless access to counseling, treatment, and modern biomedical prevention strategies.
The PMA reaffirmed its commitment to advocate for increased healthcare funding, institutional transparency, and policy frameworks that safeguard patient dignity and protect the safety of medical professionals.