Islamabad, April 28 (IANS) A Global Fund (GF) team is expected to visit Islamabad soon to examine the situation amid rising number of HIV cases in Pakistan, local media reported.

The visit has become extremely significant after more than 300 HIV cases in children were reported due to the reuse of syringes In Taunsa and 618 new cases were reported in Islamabad between January 2025 and March 2026, Pakistan’s leading daily, Dawn reported.

The report quoted a senior Pakistani health ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity, that a Global Fund team is expected to visit Pakistan soon to review the situation, and authorities had been informed.

Last week, Zafar Mirza, a former special assistant on health to Pakistan’s Prime Minister, termed the reuse of contaminated syringes and inadequate blood screening prior to transfusion as a major cause for the spread of the disease.

After reports about the Global Fund team’s visit emerged, Pakistan’s health ministry has directed the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (Drap) and the Common Manage­ment Unit (CMU) to make a strategy to stop HIV transmission, especially through the reuse of syringes.

The Global Fund invests up to USD 5 billion a year to defeat HIV, TB and malaria, and has invested over USD 1 billion in Pakistan alone over the past two decades, Dawn reported.

Last week, medical experts at the HIV Centre of Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMC) voiced concern over an increase in the number of patients, stressing that the presence of HIV cases among children is particularly alarming, also warning that cover-up of the disease and failure to undergo testing pose serious risks, with more cases being detected among men.

Programme Manager of the AIDS Control Programme, Zubair Abdullah, stated that the apparent rise in cases at the PIMS HIV Centre is largely due to more people coming forward for testing. He stressed the urgent need to inform people on how to prevent HIV, adding that an increase in testing across facilities is a positive development, Pakistani daily Express Tribune reported.

The data released by Pakistan’s Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations, and Coordination revealed that 189 individuals have been registered as HIV-positive since October 2025. As many as 11 new cases were reported in the first 20 days of April. Male patients were more than females, with cases also identified among transgender individuals, while HIV being detected among children continues to remain a cause for concern, the report said.

–IANS

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