ACCORDING to the World Health Organisation and UNAIDS, Pakistan has one of the fastest-growing HIV epidemics in Asia. Meanwhile, WHO’s Global Hepatitis Report 2026 identifies Pakistan as the single largest contributor to the global burden of hepatitis C. Are these two facts coincidental? Sadly, no. They are tragically intertwined. Both HIV and hepatitis C are blood-borne infections, transmitted when infected blood ent­ers the human body. Both can also spread through sexual contact. And both, if untreated, are potentially fatal. The pathways through which these diseases spread are ubiquitous in Pakistan’s healthcare and social practices. But we also suffer from a dangerous form of collective myopia.

When there is a media report of an outbreak of HIV — Taunsa being the latest — we have a hysterical fit, we hyperventilate, we deny, we defend, we look for a conspiracy, we blame, we want to kill the messenger who brings the bad message and we also quietly desire in our hearts, and even pray, that it passes quickly so that we can go back to our comfortable slumber. If you are finding it difficult to understand this description, then please see the press conference of a provincial health minister held after the BBC’s documentary on Taunsa. Before we can control these diseases, we must treat this myopia.

Should we not feel a sense of national shame that Pakistan is home to one of the world’s largest populations of hepatitis C patients — an estimated 10 million — many of whom continue to suffer and die unnecessarily? At the same time, HIV has been knocking at our doors, yet our response is fragmented and inadequate. Domestic investment in HIV/AIDS is minimal and we continue to rely heavily on the Global Fund. Our........

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