ISLAMABAD: Amid concerns that some provinces were not sharing HIV data with federal authorities, members of a high-level national taskforce on HIV mishandling on Wednesday proposed the creation of a real-time national dashboard, on the pattern of the Covid-19 surveillance system, and called for the promulgation of a national public health law, besides the allocation of greater domestic resources for HIV prevention, treatment and control in Pakistan.
The proposael came during the maiden meeting of the taskforce constituted by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to probe the reported mishandling of HIV cases and the reuse of contaminated syringes. The meeting was chaired by Minister of State for National Halth Services Dr Malik Mukhtar Ahmad Bharath and attended by taskforce members, including former SAPM on Health Dr Zafar Mirza, former AFIC commander Maj Gen (retd) Azhar Mahmood Kayani, Special Secretary Interior Dawood Muhammad Bareach, Additional Secretary Health Laiq Ahmed, DRAP Chief Executive Officer Dr Obaidullah, Dean Institute of Public Health Lahore Dr Saira Afzal, and infectious diseases expert Dr Sobia Qazi. Provincial health secretaries joined via video link, while senior officials from the National Institute of Health (NIH), Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP), provincial health departments, UNAIDS and the Common Management Unit (CMU) for HIV, TB and Malaria also attended the session.
Officials said the meeting discussed key issues related to HIV prevention, disease surveillance, syringe regulation and institutional weaknesses in Pakistan’s infectious disease response system. Members of the taskforce, including its chairman Dr Malik Mukhtar Ahmad Bharath, strongly recommended the allocation of the government’s own resources for the prevention, control and treatment of HIV, arguing that foreign funding often comes with conditions and limitations. The participants questioned how long Pakistan would continue relying on international donors for HIV control and stressed the need for greater domestic ownership of the country’s infectious disease response programmes.
During the meeting, Dr Zafar Mirza recommended the establishment of a national real-time dashboard for HIV and other infectious diseases, where provinces would share daily data with federal authorities, similar to the Covid-19 surveillance system.
The NIH was asked to prepare a detailed presentation for the next meeting on creating an integrated disease surveillance and analytics mechanism. Participants also proposed the promulgation of a national public health law to make it mandatory for all provincial and federal entities, both in the public and private sectors, to share infectious disease-related data with a harmonised national Management Information System (MIS).
They observed that without mandatory and standardised data sharing, the country cannot build an effective surveillance and outbreak response mechanism. NIH officials informed participants that the institute was not receiving HIV and other infectious disease-related data from Punjab, despite being the country’s premier public health surveillance and outbreak investigation body. Participants observed that the lack of timely data sharing was weakening national surveillance and affecting outbreak response.
The role of the NIH in outbreak investigations also came under discussion, with the taskforce directing the institute to adopt a more proactive approach in responding to HIV, Mpox and other infectious disease outbreaks by immediately dispatching teams to affected areas and undertaking field investigations. The meeting was also briefed on recent directives issued by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif regarding disposable syringes and infection prevention measures.
DRAP officials informed the taskforce that work had been initiated to make 10cc syringes auto-destructable to prevent reuse, while reusable 10cc syringes would be banned. DRAP will present a comprehensive plan in the next meeting on strengthening regulations for 1cc and 10cc syringes. Chief Executive Officer DRAP Dr Obaidullah informed the meeting that instructions had already been issued for the collection of 100 per cent market samples of syringes to ensure compliance with the nationwide ban on reusable 2ml, 3ml and 5ml syringes and to verify adherence to approved auto-disable standards.
The issue of non-technical persons heading the Common Management Unit for HIV, TB and Malaria also came under criticism, with several taskforce members questioning how such a sensitive public health unit could function effectively without technical leadership.
Participants stressed that technical leadership, governance reforms, financial ownership and proper data management systems are essential for an effective response to HIV and other infectious diseases in Pakistan. The next meeting of the taskforce is scheduled to be held on Friday.
