According to official reports, 50 new cases of HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) are diagnosed on average each month at two treatment and testing facilities in Islamabad. 331 new patients were diagnosed in the last seven months, many of them were born in Rawalpindi or other places in Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), or Azad Kashmir.
Most HIV infections are found in the twin towns of Rawalpindi and Islamabad, while there are also cases in Abbottabad, Mansehra, Haripur, Gujrat, Lahore, Gujranwala, Narowal, Chakwal, Mandi Bahauddin, Minwali, Sargodha Kotli, Bagh, and Ponch.
Because of the stigma attached to the illness and the possibility of prejudice, many patients steer clear of receiving care in their native communities. As a result, for diagnosis and treatment, they go to big cities like Islamabad, Lahore, and Karachi.
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A total of 46 new patients tested HIV positive in October 2022, 48 in November, 40 in December, 40 in January 2023, 72 in February, 44 in March, and 35 in April 2023, according to reports.
Because there are so many people seeking HIV treatment at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), the National Aids Control Programme has opened a second Centre there. Only a small number of HIV patients have, however, visited this centre thus far because it is still very new.
