Pakistan: HIV outbreak in Sindh province

Photo credit: The New Humanitarian

13 June 2019 - Authorities announced the current outbreak of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) in Larkana, Sindh Province in Pakistan on 25 April 2019. On 1 June 2019, 251 people were screened for HIV, of which 9 people were found to be HIV positive.

In total, 26,041 people have been screened for HIV since the beginning of the outbreak and 751 people have tested positive for HIV.

Of the 751 positive cases, only 324 (43%) are receiving Anti-Retroviral Treatment (ART) due to insufficient stocks in-country. Current stocks are enough to meet the needs of 240 children until 15 July 2019, of which 231 are already receiving treatment. This means that only 9 more children can be enrolled for treatment using available stocks, leaving many other children who have tested positive without treatment.