A growing number of married women and children in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) have tested positive for HIV, raising serious alarm among health experts who warn that the virus is spreading faster than authorities are prepared to handle.
Doctors at the District Headquarters Hospital in Landi Kotal revealed that many of the newly diagnosed women and children contracted HIV from male family members, mostly husbands or fathers, who had previously lived abroad in Gulf countries or in major Pakistani cities.
According to medical staff, many infected men refuse to undergo testing due to fear of social stigma, leaving women to seek medical assistance on their own.
Khyber district has now recorded 313 confirmed HIV cases, making it the second most affected merged district after North Waziristan, which has 383 cases. Across all seven merged districts, the total number of HIV patients has reached 1,488.
Despite the severity of the situation, health authorities failed to organize any awareness activities or public education events on International AIDS Day, a lapse that specialists say highlights the weak institutional response to the crisis.
Medical experts caution that the virus is not spreading solely through unsafe sexual contact. Poor hygiene practices, contaminated blood transfusions, unsterilized surgical equipment, reuse of syringes, and shared barber tools are also contributing factors. Yet, they say, most residents remain unaware of these risks.
Doctors are calling for immediate awareness campaigns in schools, colleges, mosques, hujras, and jirgas, urging religious leaders and community elders to help counter misinformation and stigma.
Meanwhile, District Health Officer Dr. Mustafa Kamal did not respond to queries regarding the department’s failure to hold awareness sessions or provide support to affected families.
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