Faulty HIV Figures Raise Alarm in National Assembly Panel as Pakistan Risks Global Embarrassment

Islamabad, Pakistan: Pakistan's Parliamentary body has raised red flags over what it termed as "unreliable and incomplete statistics" being reported on HIV/AIDS in the nation, cautioning that the country could face humiliation at international platforms if inaccurate data is forwarded to global health agencies, as reported by The Express Tribune.

According to The Express Tribune, the concerns were voiced during a meeting of the National Assembly's Standing Committee on National Health Services, chaired by Mahesh Kumar Malani. Lawmakers scrutinised figures presented by the health ministry and questioned their credibility, describing them as inconsistent with provincial data. Briefing the committee, officials said that the National AIDS Programme spends roughly $300 to $500 per year on each registered HIV patient.

However, PPP MNA Shazia Sobia Somro sharply criticised the ministry's report, arguing that it failed to account for a significant number of cases across the country. She claimed that approximately 40,000 HIV patients were recorded in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in 2025 alone, alongside around 300 cases in Islamabad and between 7,000 and 8,000 in Balochistan during the same year. Despite these numbers, the federal report listed only 81,000 patients nationwide and omitted detailed data from several regions. She warned that sharing such flawed statistics with international organisations could damage Pakistan's credibility.

Somro further alleged that the Islamabad Healthcare Regulatory Authority had submitted outdated figures instead of updated data when asked to provide fresh statistics. She also drew attention to reports of illegal abortions, claiming they were taking place in as many as 60 per cent of certain cases, raising broader governance and oversight questions, as cited by The Express Tribune.

Responding to the criticism, Federal Health Minister Mustafa Kamal said it was unrealistic to expect years of systemic shortcomings to be resolved within months. He added that estimates placing Pakistan's HIV burden at 300,000 were largely speculative. The minister also disclosed that under the Global Fund framework, 25 per cent of resources are channelled through the government, while 75 per cent are distributed to non-governmental organisations, highlighting structural complexities in the national HIV response, as reported by The Express Tribune.