By…. Barrister Sara Ali Syed
A deeply disturbing public health crisis has emerged from Taunsa, Punjab, exposing systemic failures in Pakistan’s healthcare system and raising urgent questions about accountability, governance, and patient safety. Investigations, including a major exposé by, have revealed that hundreds of children were infected with HIV due to gross medical negligence; practices that continued even after official intervention.
Between November 2024 and October 2025, at least 331 children in Taunsa tested positive for HIV. What makes this outbreak particularly alarming is that the vast majority of affected children were born to HIV-negative parents, ruling out mother-to-child transmission in most cases. Instead, evidence overwhelmingly points to unsafe medical practices; specifically, the repeated reuse of contaminated syringes and improper handling of injectable medications.
The Tehsil Headquarters (THQ) Hospital in Taunsa has been identified as a central point in this crisis. Local doctors first raised concerns in late 2024 after noticing an unusual spike in HIV cases among children who had received treatment at the facility. Subsequent data from provincial AIDS screening programs confirmed that contaminated needles were responsible for more than half of the infections.
In response, the Punjab government initially suspended the hospital’s Medical Superintendent (MS) in March 2025, when 106 cases had already been reported. However, in a move that raises serious concerns about institutional accountability, the same official was later reappointed to another government healthcare facility where he continued treating patients, including children.
More troubling is the revelation that unsafe practices did not stop.
Undercover footage obtained by BBC investigators in late 2025; months after the government’s so-called “crackdown”; documented ongoing violations of basic medical protocols. Over 32 hours of secret filming inside the children’s ward, the investigation captured repeated reuse of syringes, contamination of multi-dose vials & widespread disregard for infection control measures.
The footage showed syringes being reused at least ten times on shared medication vials, potentially infecting entire batches of medicine. In four instances, contaminated drugs were administered to multiple children. Healthcare staff, including doctors, were seen administering injections without gloves on 66 separate occasions. In one particularly shocking instance, a nurse retrieved a used syringe containing residual fluid and handed it over for reuse on another child.
Medical experts have described these practices as “extremely dangerous” and in direct violation of international safety standards. Even when a new needle is attached, the reuse of a contaminated syringe body can transmit blood-borne viruses such as HIV.
Despite this damning evidence, hospital authorities have denied wrongdoing. The current Medical Superintendent dismissed the footage as either outdated or staged, insisting that infection control measures are being properly followed. Similarly, official statements from local authorities claim that no “conclusive epidemiological evidence” directly links the hospital to the outbreak; despite overwhelming circumstantial and documented proof.
An internal inspection report, conducted jointly by international health bodies and leaked to investigators, paints an equally grim picture. It highlights severe deficiencies in hygiene, lack of essential medicines, reuse of intravenous equipment, and a near-total breakdown of infection prevention protocols; particularly in pediatric emergency wards.
This is not an isolated incident.
Pakistan has previously witnessed similar outbreaks, most notably in Rato Dero, Sindh, where hundreds of children were infected under comparable circumstances. More recently, cases have also emerged in Karachi, where dozens of children contracted HIV in a government hospital; again linked to syringe reuse. Several deaths have already been reported.
Experts argue that the crisis is driven by a toxic combination of systemic issues: chronic underfunding, supply shortages, lack of training, weak oversight, and a cultural overreliance on injectable treatments; even when medically unnecessary. In many public hospitals, staff are forced to ration limited supplies, leading to dangerous shortcuts that put lives at risk.
The human cost of this negligence is devastating.
Children like Asma, diagnosed with HIV at just 10 years old, now face a lifetime of medical treatment, social stigma, and psychological trauma. Many families report isolation, discrimination, and the heartbreak of losing young children to a disease that should have been entirely preventable.
As new infections continue to be reported, the failure to take decisive action reflects not just administrative inefficiency but a profound disregard for human life. Suspending officials without ensuring accountability, allowing them to resume practice elsewhere, and denying clear evidence of malpractice only perpetuates the cycle of harm.
This is no longer just a healthcare issue; it is a national emergency and a moral crisis.
Immediate, transparent, and enforceable reforms are essential. These must include strict monitoring of medical practices, guaranteed supply of sterile equipment, comprehensive staff training, and above all, accountability for those responsible. Without urgent intervention, the very institutions meant to heal will continue to endanger the most vulnerable.
The children of Taunsa; and across Pakistan…..deserve better.
About the Author
Barrister Sara Ali Syed ▪︎Advocate High Court.
▪︎ President Multan Division of the Association of International Lawyers (AIL Global),
▪︎ Central Information Secretary, South Punjab Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf,
▪︎ Co-Organizer, Election Analysis and Management Cell (South Punjab PTI).
She can be reached at:
Sasyed@bsol.pk.org
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