KARACHI: The Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) has expressed deep concern over what it describes as a worsening healthcare crisis in Sindh, blaming the provincial Health Department for negligence, poor governance, and failure to strengthen the public healthcare system.
In a statement issued on Monday, PMA Secretary General Dr. Abdul Ghafoor Shoro said the outsourcing of public health facilities to organizations such as PPHI and private NGOs had weakened the government's responsibility to provide accessible healthcare, particularly for low-income communities.
The PMA highlighted two recent pediatric HIV outbreaks as evidence of the deteriorating health system. It said that 73 children tested positive for HIV at Chandka Medical College Children's Hospital during June 2026, while another 80 pediatric HIV cases have been officially reported in Karachi. According to the association, the majority of these infections are linked to unsafe medical practices, including the reuse of syringes, inadequate blood screening, and negligence by unqualified healthcare providers rather than mother-to-child transmission.
The association also pointed to deteriorating conditions in public hospitals, stating that immunocompromised children at the Larkana ART Centre are being treated in poor infrastructure with shortages of pharmacists and junior medical staff. It further claimed that essential medicines for hepatitis B and C, tuberculosis (TB), and cancer are unavailable at many government health facilities, leaving vulnerable patients without treatment.
The PMA criticized the government's healthcare priorities, saying that while senior officials seek treatment abroad, ordinary citizens are burdened by rising healthcare costs and are forced to pay out of pocket for essential medical services.
The association called on the Sindh government to immediately restore direct control over public hospitals, ensure the urgent availability of life-saving medicines, provide pediatric HIV diagnostic kits to peripheral districts, launch transparent investigations into institutional negligence, intensify action against quack doctors, strengthen the role of regulatory authorities, and allocate emergency funds to improve hospital infrastructure and address staff shortages.
The PMA warned that unless immediate corrective measures are taken, the ongoing healthcare crisis could develop into a major humanitarian emergency affecting thousands of patients across Sindh.
