KARACHI: Families of children who contracted HIV after receiving treatment at a state-run hospital in Karachi last year say they are struggling with mounting medical costs and repeated hospital visits while waiting for financial assistance promised by the Sindh government.
The outbreak at the Sindh Employees Social Security Institution-run Kulsum Bai Valika Hospital has triggered multiple inquiries and scrutiny by the Sindh High Court over how the infections occurred, amid broader concern in Pakistan over unsafe medical practices and the spread of HIV among children.
“Who has received those Rs40,000,” questioned Muhammad Gul, whose daughter was diagnosed with HIV after receiving treatment at the hospital.
“I didn’t get them. I received nothing.”
Sindh Labor Minister Saeed Ghani announced on Aug. 3 that affected families would receive Rs40,000-80,000 ($144-$288) per month, depending on the number of children infected, as authorities sought to support families facing long-term treatment costs.
But parents who spoke to Arab News on Monday said they had yet to receive the promised assistance and were struggling not only with expenses but also with accessing treatment.
Shazia, a mother of two children diagnosed with HIV who only gave her first name, said her family had received no assistance.
“Sometimes it’s even hard to get medicine. We have to run around a lot,” she told Arab News.
The precise scale of the outbreak remains unclear.
Hospital management and provincial officials have cited six deaths among children affected by the outbreak, while a petition filed in the Sindh High Court this month said nine children had died and sought an “independent and transparent” investigation. Different official accounts
have also cited varying numbers of HIV-positive children linked to screening conducted after the outbreak emerged.
Asked about the differing death tolls, Muhammad Ghayasuddin, the hospital’s medical superintendent, referred Arab News to focal person Saadat Memon for updated figures. Memon was unavailable for comment.
Ghayasuddin said bank accounts had so far been opened for 37 affected families and Rs40,000 per family was expected to be transferred in the coming days.
“For prevention, we have formed an IPC [Infection Prevention Committee],” he continued, adding that the committee holds weekly meetings for capacity-building of the hospital staff.
“Besides this, we have a liaison with other pediatric infectious disease professionals... Whatever is needed in between, we manage through coordination.”
The Karachi outbreak comes amid wider concern over pediatric HIV infections and infection-control failures in Pakistan.
A BBC investigation published earlier this year identified at least 331 children who tested positive for HIV in Taunsa in Punjab province between November 2024 and October 2025.
Undercover filming at a government hospital there showed syringes being reused on multi-dose medicine vials, including instances in which medicine from the same vial was subsequently administered to another child.
The BBC investigation said contaminated needles were recorded as the likely route of transmission in more than half of the cases it identified, highlighting concerns among health experts that weak infection-control practices could contribute to further outbreaks.
For families in Karachi, however, promised financial assistance addresses only part of a longer struggle involving repeated hospital visits, medicine and emergency care.
Ayesha Kamran, whose two-year-old son was infected, said her family had been moving between hospitals as they struggled with his recurring health problems.
“We are just making the rounds of hospitals, sometimes going to Aga Khan, sometimes coming here,” she said.
“Our child is still admitted today. My child is not getting better.”
Aftab Khan, a father of four affected children, said families wanted medical cards that would allow them to seek treatment at specialist hospitals during emergencies without first having to arrange large payments.
“Our biggest issue is the children,” he said, adding that some affected families have even lost their livelihoods because of the time and expense involved in caring for their children.
