Health minister says 84,000 registered HIV cases in Pakistan; raises concerns over funding, oversight
Health Minister Mustafa Kamal. Photo: X
Health Minister Mustafa Kamal said on Tuesday that Pakistan had 84,000 registered HIV cases, out of which 61,000 patients were currently under treatment, while the remaining 23,000 “could not be traced” as they were not receiving medical care.
Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, the minister said the government was providing free treatment for HIV at public health facilities and rejected the perception that AIDS was incurable.
“HIV is not a death sentence, and it is treatable if patients continue medication throughout life,” he said, adding that stigma and secrecy were contributing to the spread of the disease.
He further noted that the estimated number of HIV cases in Pakistan should have been around 369,000 based on population trends. However, he said the current registered prevalence rate of 0.1% was lower than the global average of 0.5%.
Screening and testing data
Providing comparative data, the minister said that in 2020, 37,944 people were screened across 49 centres, out of which 6,910 tested positive. In 2025, the number of testing centres increased to 97, with 374,126 tests conducted and 14,182 positive cases reported.
He said the HIV case graph in the country remained stable, with no sudden surge observed.
Minister for National Health Services @KamalMQM announces plan to expand network of ART Centres for HIV screening and treatment#RadioPakistan #news https://t.co/W0BqLDQH1y pic.twitter.com/XqYFS24Omq
Funding concerns
The minister also raised concerns over the use of international funds for HIV programmes. He said a $65 million HIV programme had allocated $61.1 million to UNDP and an NGO named “Nai Zindagi,” which was not registered with the Ministry of Economic Affairs.
He added that out of the total funding between 2024 and 2026, only $3.9 million was directly provided to the Ministry of Health. “NGOs are not providing details of fund utilisation, and the ministry is being denied information, which is a matter of concern,” he said.
Regional data and treatment updates
Kamal said there were 618 registered HIV cases in Islamabad, including 208 local patients and 408 referred from other regions, including Rawalpindi, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir.
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He also said that no new HIV cases were reported from Taunsa between January and April 2026, noting that earlier reports from 2024 had highlighted infections in the area.
Policy measures
The minister announced that the government was planning to ban 10cc syringes to prevent reuse, stating that unsafe injection practices had been a major cause of HIV outbreaks.
“The reuse of syringes has led to HIV outbreaks in the past,” he said, adding that healthcare safety was a matter of national security and could have serious economic consequences if not addressed.
Governance and past irregularities
Kamal said that global health partners had previously flagged financial irregularities in programmes funded by the Global Fund, including the procurement of mosquito nets worth millions of dollars. He said an inquiry had been initiated and action would be taken against those responsible.
He also added that Pakistan’s armed forces and leadership had demonstrated strength in recent regional tensions, while stressing that greater focus was now required on improving the country’s health system.