Pakistan faces a mounting HIV crisis that health professionals increasingly attribute to unsafe medical practice. An undercover BBC probe in Taunsa district, Punjab, filmed healthcare workers apparently reusing syringes, mishandling multi-dose medicine vials and failing to follow sterilisation procedures. Local outbreaks of hundreds of HIV cases were linked to these unsafe injection practices.
The pattern of infection is changing. HIV was once concentrated among intravenous drug users and sex workers, but infections are rising among women and children with no known exposure risks. Baseer Achakzai, national technical advisor for HIV/AIDS, said infections are appearing outside traditional high‑risk groups. Clinicians such as Amina Khan report many paediatric cases are iatrogenic — acquired during medical care — leaving families with health, social and financial burdens.
WHO statistics record a 200% rise in new infections over 15 years, from 16,000 in 2010 to 48,000 in 2024, and estimate about 350,000 people living with HIV in Pakistan, with almost eight in ten unaware of their status. The government has banned used and reusable syringes, but markets still supply them and enforcement is weak. Officials did not respond to requests for comment, and volunteers say testing is improving but stigma and fear still prevent many from seeking diagnosis and care.
- Recommended measures include single-use or auto-disposable syringes.
- Other steps are infection-control monitoring and mandatory blood screening.
- Authorities are urged to inspect clinics, test more people and penalise unlicensed practitioners.
Difficult words
- reuse — use something again after initial usereusing
- mishandle — handle or manage badly or incorrectlymishandling
- sterilisation — process to make instruments free of germs
- iatrogenic — caused by medical treatment or medical staff
- stigma — social disapproval that prevents people seeking care
- auto-disposable — designed to be used once and then discarded
- multi-dose — containing several doses for use over time
- enforcement — action of making people follow rules
Tip: hover, focus or tap highlighted words in the article to see quick definitions while you read or listen.
Discussion questions
- Why might stigma and fear prevent people from seeking HIV testing and care, and what steps could reduce these barriers?
- What practical problems make the ban on used and reusable syringes hard to enforce, and how could authorities improve enforcement?
- How do iatrogenic infections affect families beyond health, and what support could help those families?
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