Federal Minister for National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination, Mr. Syed Mustafa Kamal, chaired a meeting of the Joint Working Group on HIV/AIDS at the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination, Islamabad.
The Joint Working Group comprises Mr. Syed Mustafa Kamal, Federal Minister for National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination (Chairperson); Major General (R) Azhar Mahmood Kayani; Additional Secretary, MoNHSR&C; Mr. Mark Edington, Head of Grant Management, The Global Fund, Geneva; Ms. Izaskun Gaviria, Head of Global Fund Country Team/Fund Portfolio Manager; Country Representatives of WHO, UNAIDS, UNICEF and UNDP; Dr. Sobia Qazi, Head of Department and Infectious Disease Specialist, Institute of Public Health, Lahore; Dr. Saira Afzal, Dean, Institute of Public Health, Lahore; representative of the Ministry of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives (MoPD&SI); Health Secretaries of all provinces and federating areas; Director General Health, MoNHSR&C; Chief Executive Officer, DRAP; National Coordinator, CMU, as Secretary/Member; CCM representative from Key Population Organizations; CCM representative from the Network of People Living with HIV; Prof. Dr. Mohsin Saeed Khan, Health Services Academy, Islamabad; Director Programmes, MoNHSR&C; District Health Officer, Islamabad and Dr. Zubair Abdullah, National Program Manager HIV, as co-opted member.
The meeting reviewed the national HIV situation, programme implementation, surveillance and digital systems, provincial response, Global Fund-supported interventions, and progress on key recommendations. The Joint Working Group also reviewed and monitored strategic frameworks, including PC-I implementation designs and implementation of recommendations, directives and reform measures approved by the Honourable Prime Minister, the Prime Minister's Task Force and other competent forums relating to HIV prevention, surveillance, testing, treatment, infection prevention and control, blood safety, public awareness and health-system strengthening.
The meeting also discussed interventions relating to injection safety, blood safety, infection prevention and control, public awareness, stigma reduction, community engagement and protection of vulnerable populations, including corrective measures required to address identified gaps.
During the meeting, the Federal Minister directed that HIV screening be ensured before all minor and major surgical procedures involving piercing or incision of the skin across Pakistan, as part of strengthened measures to prevent healthcare-associated transmission of HIV.
The Minister instructed the health authorities of Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan to issue/formalize the necessary notifications for implementation of pre-surgical HIV screening. It was noted that Sindh, Punjab and Islamabad Capital Territory are already carrying out HIV screening before minor and major surgical procedures involving piercing of the skin. The Minister emphasized the need for a uniform approach across the country.
The Federal Minister also emphasized that special attention be given to nutritional support for children living with HIV (CLHIV). He stressed that care for affected children should include nutritional, psychosocial and welfare support, in addition to clinical treatment, to improve treatment outcomes and quality of life.
The Minister further directed that Provincial Healthcare Commissions be invited to the next meeting of the Joint Working Group to review Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) practices across the provinces. He emphasized that unsafe injections, weak infection-control practices and gaps in blood safety must be comprehensively addressed as part of the national HIV response.
Major General (R) Azhar Mahmood Kayani advised the Government of Punjab to integrate its HIV data with the National HIV Management Information System (MIS) to ensure a unified and real-time national surveillance picture at the earliest. The meeting noted that Punjab's non-integration with the national case-based system remains an important gap affecting national reporting, outbreak alerts, patient tracking and programme oversight.
In the end, the Syed Mustafa Kamal, Federal Minister, reiterated the Government's firm resolve to stop further transmission of HIV in Pakistan and address the systemic challenges affecting the national response.
“The Prime Minister is fully committed to resolving the issue of HIV in Pakistan. We will collectively ensure that HIV transmission is stopped in Pakistan and that the challenges confronting the national HIV response are addressed with urgency and determination.”
The Minister emphasized that HIV is preventable and that stopping its transmission requires coordinated and sustained action by the Federal Government, provincial governments, regulatory authorities, healthcare institutions, development partners and communities. He directed that a comprehensive report on the directives assigned shall be submitted in the next meeting.
The meeting also reviewed progress in the expansion of ART centres, establishment of OAMT services, strengthening of viral-load testing, surveillance and digital systems, border and point-of-entry screening, the 2026 Epidemiological and Programme Reviews, and implementation of recommendations of the Prime Minister's Task Force.
