Karachi, April 14 (IANS). A horrifying picture of Sindh, Pakistan has been presented by the media organizations there quoting the Sindh Health Department. Told that the number of HIV infected people has increased significantly in Sindh province in just three months. The most disturbing thing is that there is a significant number of children below 14 years of age.
Well-known Pakistani media outlet ARY Digital, based on data released by health officials, reported that HIV cases are increasing at an alarming rate in Sindh; In just three months, reports of hundreds of new infections have emerged, including a large number of children.
Health officials said HIV infections continue to rise across Sindh; In the first three months of the year, 894 were found infected. Of these, 332 men, 204 women and 29 transgenders were found infected. According to officials, these figures only show the increasing level of infection.
The report further states that the most worrying thing is that the number of children has increased. This year, this virus has been identified in a total of 329 children under 14 years of age. According to hospital data, among them 188 are boys and 141 are girls.
The number of HIV infected people has increased rapidly in the first quarter of the year. 294 cases were reported in January, 324 in February and 276 in March, indicating a rising graph of infections across the province.
Health officials warned that the situation could be similar to that in Rato Dero, a small area in Larkana in 2019. Then 900 people, including 754 children, were infected after reusing a contaminated syringe.
According to Sama TV, health experts have attributed the increasing number of HIV infections in Sindh to unsafe syringes and contaminated blood transfusions.
These unsafe practices continue to pose serious risks, especially in areas where healthcare standards and monitoring are weak.
Nearly 100 HIV cases were also reported in a single hospital in Sindh, underscoring the severity of the situation locally. Hospital officials warned that if strict controls are not taken and public awareness is not increased, the number of infected people may increase further.
ARY highlighted the debate in Parliament in its report. He said that during Question Hour on March 30, the National Assembly was told that 84,421 HIV/AIDS patients were registered across the country.
Federal Minister for Health, Syed Mustafa Kamal presented written information related to HIV/AIDS patients during the National Assembly session. In a formal written reply, the Minister said that 84,421 people living with this disease have been registered under the ‘National AIDS Control Programme’.
According to the minister, most of these patients are from Pakistan’s most densely populated provinces – Punjab and Sindh.
–IANS
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