HIV screening to be made mandatory before any surgery

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Minister for Health, Mustafa Kamal, announced that HIV (AIDS) testing will become a requirement for all surgical procedures performed throughout Pakistan.

The National Health Standing Committee of the National Assembly conducted a meeting, which Mahesh Kumar Malani chaired. The Health Ministry representatives asked to conduct the AIDS briefing through an in-camera session.

The committee members rejected the request. The health officials provided the committee with information about 84000 registered HIV cases that currently exist in the country.

Of these cases, 61000 patients receive treatment, while more than 16000 patients have stopped their treatment. The officials explained that better screening efforts lead to increased reporting of cases.

They added that in 2020, approximately 38000 individuals received testing at 49 centres, while testing centre numbers grew to 97 by 2025. The new centres conducted over 300000 tests, which resulted in more than 14000 positive cases.

The committee members found that HIV transmission occurs because people reuse syringes. The Prime Minister and Minister Mustafa Kamal reached a decision to ban all syringe types from reuse.

The decision requires all surgical procedures to include HIV screening before their commencement. He also said that under the Global Fund for HIV prevention, the Global Fund is providing $65 million to Pakistan.

The Ministry of Health received only $3.9 million, while two non-governmental organizations received $61 million. The committee asked all relevant institutions to provide complete briefings at their upcoming session.