ISLAMABAD – Federal Minister for Health Mustafa Kamal has announced that HIV (AIDS) screening will be made mandatory before any surgical procedure in Pakistan.
A meeting of the National Assembly Standing Committee on National Health was held under the chairmanship of Mahesh Kumar Malani, where officials from the Ministry of Health requested that the briefing on AIDS be held in-camera. However, committee members opposed the proposal.
During the briefing, health officials informed the committee that the number of registered HIV cases in the country has reached 84,000. Out of these, 61,000 patients are receiving treatment, while more than 16,000 have been lost to follow-up during treatment.
Officials said the rise in reported cases is mainly due to increased screening efforts. They added that in 2020, around 38,000 people were tested at 49 centres, while by 2025 the number of testing centres had increased to 97, where over 300,000 tests were conducted and more than 14,000 cases were found positive.
Committee members identified the reuse of syringes as a major cause of HIV spread.
Minister Mustafa Kamal said he had met the Prime Minister regarding the issue, where it was decided to ban the reuse of all types of syringes, including 10cc syringes, and to make HIV screening compulsory before any operation.
He also said that under the Global Fund for HIV prevention, Global Fund is providing $65 million to Pakistan. Of this, only $3.9 million has been allocated to the Ministry of Health, while $61 million is being given to two non-governmental organizations.
The committee recommended that all relevant institutions present detailed briefings in the next meeting.
