HIV screening made mandatory before surgeries across Pakistan

Federal Health Minister Mustafa Kamal has mandated HIV screening prior to all surgical procedures involving skin piercing or incisions across Pakistan, with the aim of mitigating healthcare-associated transmission of the virus. During a meeting of the Joint Working Group on HIV/AIDS, Kamal directed provincial officials in Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Gilgit-Baltistan to formalise and issue notifications to enforce pre-surgical HIV screening.

Health authorities in Sindh, Punjab, and the Islamabad Capital Territory have already implemented such screening. Kamal emphasized the importance of establishing a consistent standard nationwide. He also stressed the need to provide special attention to children living with HIV, highlighting the necessity of comprehensive care that includes nutritional, psychosocial, and welfare support in addition to clinical treatment.

Kamal instructed provincial healthcare commissions to participate in the next meeting to assess Infection Prevention and Control practices, stressing that issues such as unsafe injections, inadequate infection-control protocols, and gaps in blood safety must be addressed within the national framework.