Pakistan Print edition: 2026-02-21

Over 0.3m AIDS cases: Claims based on assumptions, Kamal tells NA panel

Published February 21, 2026 Updated February 21, 2026 05:36am

4 min

By Abdul Rasheed Azad

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ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for National Health Services and Regulations Mustafa Kamal has said that the claims regarding over 300,000 HIV AIDs cases in Pakistan are based on assumptions, as no authentic data so far is available in the country.

He stated this on Friday while briefing the National Assembly Standing Committee on National Health Services and Regulations, which was held under the chairmanship Dr Mahesh Kumar Malani.

The Minister for Health clarified that these figures indicated that, following the Ministry’s efforts to curb the issue by expanding testing centres from 24 to 127, more individuals had been reporting and getting tested, which resulted in higher case detection. The Minister stated that several positive steps had been taken during his tenure and should be reflected accordingly.

Kamal said that the government was receiving only 25 percent of the financial resources from the Global Fund,while 75 percent global funds financial resources are earmarked for Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs). Mustafa Kamal also said that 90 percent of people are being deported for medical reasons, those who are deported will be screened at the Border Health Services, and the disease was found in children at one place in Sindh because they were given the wrong syringes.

While reviewing the HIV situation in the country, the committee observed serious deficiencies in the report submitted by the Ministry, noting that several requested details were missing, including provincial HIV data from Balochistan. The Committee was apprised that under the National AIDS Programme approximately $300–$500 per patient was spent annually, though this was not reflected in the documentation shared

Members highlighted that approximately 350,000 HIV patients had been reported from Sindh and Punjab, indicating an increase of around 75 percent; 20,000 new cases had been reported in 2018–19, and 9,700 cases had been recorded in the first nine months of 2024. The panel further noted that 31 patients identified as HIV positive at Nishtar Hospital were not accompanied by information on treatment progress, and that data relating to 669 reported cases out of 5,000 in District Sargodha’s areaKotMomin during 2018–19 were absent.

It was also highlighted that 24,000 patients had been registered for treatment in 2019, while the Minister clarified that at present only 84,000 individuals were under treatment for HIV. The Committee emphasized that multiple aspects, including requested data and causal factors, remained inadequately reflected in the Ministry’s submission.

The committee was informed that reported HIV cases were being tracked and that expansion of screening facilities had contributed to increased identification of cases. The Ministry indicated that nationwide screening and awareness measures were being pursued and that programme-related matters, including funding flows and oversight mechanisms, would be shared with the Committee in subsequent briefings.

The Chair directed that a consolidated progress report detailing actions taken be presented before the next meeting. The Committee directed that details regarding funding allocations to NGOs, programme implementation, including HIV-related matters and project-specific operational briefings be presented in the next meeting.

The committee examined concerns regarding regulatory oversight and performance of healthcare authorities, including issues related to outdated information sharing and lack of progress reporting on clinical oversight and enforcement measures by the Islamabad Healthcare Regulatory Authority, Islamabad. The Ministry informed the Committee that certain matters required time and development review, and Members emphasized the need for comprehensive documentation and factual ground assessments in future submissions.

While deliberating on the Pakistan Nursing and Midwifery Council (Ordinance No. IX of 2025), the Minister for Health stated that “the war was still on they had not given up,” and proposed that the matter be taken up in a subsequent in-camera meeting. Members raised concerns that, according to their sources, even in the newly constituted Council certain members from Gilgit-Baltistan and Balochistan possessed fake degrees and lacked required qualifications, and sought supporting verification.

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