Federal Health Minister Mustafa Kamal has said that there are 84,000 registered cases of AIDS in the country, out of which 61,000 individuals are under treatment, while the remaining patients could not be traced. He added that out of the 65 million dollar AIDS program, 61.1 million dollars have been released to a United Nations agency and NGOs.
Speaking at a press conference, Mustafa Kamal expressed lack of awareness regarding the use of funds related to AIDS cases, stating that NGOs are not providing details of fund utilization and are refusing to share information with the ministry, which is a matter of concern.
He said that there has been no sudden increase in the graph of HIV cases and it remains stable. At present, there are 84,000 registered cases in the country, of which 61,000 individuals are under treatment, while 23,000 patients could not be traced as they are not receiving treatment.
The Federal Health Minister stated that it is incorrect to say that AIDS is incurable, as it is now treatable and medicines are available free of cost at government centers.
Mustafa Kamal said that based on population, Pakistan should have had 369,000 cases, however the current rate is 0.1 percent, which is lower than the global ratio of 0.5 percent.
He said that the report of HIV cases in Taunsa is from 2024 and no new case has been reported from January to April 2026. In Islamabad, 618 cases are registered, of which 208 are local while 408 cases have been referred from other areas including Rawalpindi, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit Baltistan and Azad Kashmir.
The Federal Health Minister said that the government is going to ban 10cc syringes in the country, adding that once a syringe is used, it will not be reused.
