KARACHI:
In the densely populated slums clustered around Valika Hospital, a silent crisis is unfolding that has left dozens of families devastated, searching for answers and fighting a stigma as painful as the disease itself.
As the number of HIV-positive children rises to 80, parents say their lives have been turned upside down, not only by a diagnosis they cannot explain, but by the rejection, fear and isolation that followed.
While authorities say all infected children are receiving treatment through antiretroviral therapy (ART) centers and have announced a Rs 2 billion endowment fund for long-term care, affected families describe a grim reality marked by treatment delays, financial strains and deep social stigma.
The outbreak first emerged in October 2025, prompting expanded controls and an ongoing investigation. Most of the cases emerged in the neighborhoods surrounding the hospital, including Banaras, Orangi Town, SIET Area, Itehad Town and Pathan Colony. For many parents, the most important question remains unanswered: how their children contracted the virus.
“Both of them tested negative. We still don’t know how our daughter contracted HIV,” said Mehtab, father of three-year-old Uzma Naz. He said his daughter was admitted to Valika Hospital in October 2025 with fever and underwent multiple tests, including a blood transfusion, during a 10- to 12-day stay.
“When two children in my brother’s family tested positive, I finally agreed to test my daughter. Her result was also positive,” he said, adding that both he and his wife later tested negative.
Mehtab also alleged delays in hospital services. “The tests were prescribed in the morning, but the blood sample was not taken until four in the afternoon, after repeated visits to officials,” he said.
Beyond the medical ordeal, families say they are now dealing with social isolation.
“Our children’s lives have been destroyed. Neighbors and even relatives shun them. We want justice and proper treatment,” he said. For Ayesha Kamran, whose 17-month-old son is HIV positive, the diagnosis has turned her life upside down. “My in-laws forced me to leave the house,” she said, adding that her husband, a day laborer, risks losing his job if he is absent from work. “If he doesn’t work, how will we survive?”
He said his son, admitted to Valika Hospital in August 2025, was diagnosed months later after another bout of illness.
“My son remained without medication for two days. HIV treatment must be timely, but we couldn’t get it,” he added.
Another father, Aftab, whose three sons – aged 12 and a daughter aged three and eight – are HIV positive, said the stigma has been as devastating as the disease itself.
“The school asked us to take our children because other parents would take them away,” she said. “In our neighborhood, children no longer play with them.”
He described cases of discrimination at social events. “At weddings, they made my children sit separately and served them food in separate utensils.”
“Your questions destroy me,” he added. “They ask: what disease do we have? Why is everyone avoiding us? What have we done wrong?”
Local officials say the scale of the outbreak may be larger than reported. Pathan Colony Trade Union Council president Irshad Khan said evidence presented before the Sindh High Court suggests that the number of cases could exceed 100.
He also raised concerns about alleged negligence, including the use of expired test kits and poor infection control practices in the hospital’s children’s ward.
“We don’t want the hospital to close because it cares for the poor, but those responsible must be held accountable,” he said.
Khan also criticized attempts to shift the blame to administrative staff, arguing that clinical and procurement decisions fall outside their mandate. He warned that if the investigation lacks transparency, his organization would seek a judicial investigation.
Despite ongoing investigations, families say accountability remains elusive.
The Sindh government has initiated disciplinary action, suspending two doctors and 17 nursing staff, while issuing show cause notices to 37 doctors and paramedical staff. The medical superintendent of the hospital has also been removed.
However, for the families affected, the crisis goes beyond the numbers.
They continue to fight against the interruption of treatment, increasing costs and social rejection, while demanding answers about how the infections occurred and guarantees that no other children will suffer the same fate.
“We don’t just need treatment,” said one parent. “We need justice, dignity and a future for our children.”
