KARACHI: The Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) has expressed serious concern over the rising HIV crisis in the country and demanded an urgent transparent inquiry into the alleged theft of life-saving medicines and the accountability of organizations receiving international HIV funding.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, PMA Secretary General Dr. Abdul Ghafoor Shoro said the association was alarmed by reports that organizations receiving over 93 percent of HIV funding, including the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Nai Zindagi Trust, were not directly accountable to the Government of Pakistan. He said the increasing HIV infection rate was a matter of national security and public health rather than merely a donor-managed project.
The PMA also expressed concern over the Ministry of Health’s reported admission before a parliamentary panel that medicines and medical supplies worth $800,000 had been stolen. The association termed the incident highly alarming and unacceptable.
Dr. Shoro stated that no international or local organization should be allowed to operate without strict government oversight when the lives of Pakistani citizens were involved. He added that the lack of accountability in the management of nearly $65 million in Global Fund financing posed a serious threat to public health.
The PMA questioned why the Government of Pakistan had remained silent while major national health resources were allegedly being managed through channels bypassing state authority. The association emphasized that the government must reclaim its role as the primary guardian of public health.
The PMA demanded an immediate high-level inquiry into the alleged theft of medical supplies and called for the investigation findings to be made public. It further demanded criminal action against all those found responsible.
The association also called for all future HIV/AIDS funding and operational plans to be integrated into a unified national framework under the direct supervision of the Ministry of National Health Services and provincial health departments.
The PMA further demanded a comprehensive forensic and performance audit of all NGOs receiving HIV-related funding to determine why, despite millions of dollars in investment, nearly 300,000 HIV cases remained undetected and around 20,000 patients had reportedly gone missing from the treatment system.
Dr. Abdul Ghafoor Shoro said the most effective way to manage the HIV crisis was to strengthen the public healthcare system from Basic Health Units (BHUs) to District Headquarters (DHQ) hospitals instead of relying heavily on NGO-driven models lacking local accountability.
The PMA warned that the current HIV management model was failing and vowed not to remain silent while people continued to suffer due to a lack of transparency and coordination in the health sector.
