ISLAMABAD: HIV Cases in Pakistan continue to rise at an alarming pace, and new data from global health agencies has once again highlighted the severity of the crisis. According to WHO and UNAIDS, HIV Cases in Pakistan have tripled over the past 15 years, pushing the total number of people living with AIDS to nearly 350,000. Health experts say HIV Cases in Pakistan are increasing due to unsafe medical practices, limited testing, and widespread stigma that keeps infected individuals from seeking help.
These findings were highlighted in a joint report released by WHO and UNAIDS on World AIDS Day, with a call for Pakistan to take urgent action to reverse a trend that has placed the country among regions with the sharpest rise in HIV transmission.
Under the theme “Overcoming disruption, transforming the AIDS response,” WHO, UNAIDS, and the Ministry of Health in Pakistan held an awareness walk in Islamabad to stress the need for collective responsibility, stronger prevention measures, and intensified public engagement. The global bodies have also reiterated their goal of ending AIDS, the advanced stage of HIV, as a public health threat by 2030.
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Once concentrated largely among high-risk groups, the epidemic is now spreading into children, spouses, and the general population, fuelled by unsafe blood transfusions, poor injection safety, lack of antenatal HIV screening, limited access to testing and treatment services, stigma, and unprotected sexual practices.
The report estimates that around 350,000 Pakistanis are currently living with HIV, but nearly 80 percent remain unaware of their status. The rise in infections among children is particularly alarming: cases in the 0–14 age group have climbed from 530 in 2010 to 1,800 in 2023.
Despite these challenges, Pakistan has made progress in expanding treatment. The number of people on antiretroviral therapy (ART) has increased eightfold over the past decade—from 6,500 in 2013 to 55,500 in 2024. ART centres have also grown from 13 in 2010 to 95 in 2025. Still, only 21 percent of those living with HIV know their status, 16 percent receive treatment, and just 7 percent achieve viral suppression. Over 1,100 AIDS-related deaths were recorded in 2024.
Speaking at the event, Director-General of the Ministry of National Health Services, Dr. Ayesha Majeed Isani, said the disease cannot be contained through government efforts alone. She emphasised the need to eliminate stigma, strengthen regulation, improve blood and injection safety, and involve both clinicians and communities to prevent further spread.
WHO Representative in Pakistan, Dr. Luo Dapeng, warned that rising cases—especially among children—pose a serious threat to the country’s future. He urged coordinated efforts and sustained investment to protect vulnerable groups. “WHO will stand with Pakistan to ensure no one is left behind,” he said.
UNAIDS Country Director Trouble Chikoko also called for a global recommitment to ending AIDS by 2030. He stressed that domestic resources alone are insufficient and that Pakistan requires stronger international support to scale up prevention, testing, and treatment programmes—particularly for women, children, and key populations.
Pakistan has witnessed several disturbing HIV outbreaks in recent years—many of them overwhelmingly affecting children—in Larkana (2019), Jacobabad, Shikarpur (2023), Taunsa and Mirpur Khas (2024), and multiple towns in Sindh in 2025. In some outbreaks, over 80 percent of infected cases were children, largely due to unsafe medical practices.
Currently, only 14 percent of pregnant women needing HIV treatment receive it, increasing risks of mother-to-child transmission. Among children living with HIV, just 38 percent are on treatment.
WHO and UNAIDS reaffirmed their commitment to work with Pakistan to build a stronger, safer, and more inclusive HIV response, aiming for a future where new infections decline, treatment access expands, and communities are empowered to protect themselves.
