Nearly 20,000 HIV Patients Vanish After Starting Treatment, Parliament Told
Pakistan's National Assembly standing committee was informed on Tuesday that nearly 20,000 HIV-positive patients have gone missing after initiating treatment at state-run HIV centres, exposing a critical failure in the country's public health tracking and retention systems.
The alarming figure was presented during a committee session and points to systemic gaps in patient follow-up, data management, and adherence support within HIV treatment infrastructure. The scale of loss to follow-up raises serious public health concerns, as untreated HIV patients remain infectious and are at heightened risk of developing AIDS.
Health officials acknowledged the severity of the disclosure but did not provide a clear explanation for the high attrition rate. Experts have long warned that Pakistan's HIV response has been hampered by stigma, under-resourced facilities, and a fragmented referral system that fails to maintain continuity of care.
Pakistan has seen a sharp rise in HIV cases in recent years, with outbreaks reported in Sindh, Punjab, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The country's HIV burden is increasingly driven by injecting drug use and inadequate harm reduction services, compounding the challenge of retaining patients in treatment.
The committee is expected to summon health ministry officials for a detailed briefing on measures to locate missing patients and overhaul tracking systems at HIV treatment centres nationwide.
