Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday directed a ban on the production and use of substandard syringes to prevent infectious diseases.

The directives came as the premier chaired a meeting in Islamabad on measures taken to prevent the spread of HIV and Hepatitis C, the Prime Minister’s Office said (PMO).

According to the statement, he said that action should be taken against individuals and hospitals found using illegal syringes or guilty of criminal negligence in preventing their use.

He further ordered the formation of a special committee of experts to control infectious diseases, whose recommendations should be presented after consultations with the provinces.

He also directed the law ministry to propose amendments to the legal and regulatory framework.

“Formulating a comprehensive strategy at the national level and ensuring its effective implementation is the solution to the problem,” he said.

Shehbaz also instructed the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan, in consultation with the medical devices industry, to permanently prevent the spread of infectious diseases through syringes.

“The support of international partners is crucial in efforts to prevent infectious diseases,” he told the meeting attendees. PM Shehbaz also stressed on training medical staff according to international standards.

History of HIV cases in hospitals

Over the years, HIV outbreaks linked to healthcare facilities have surfaced in various cities of Pakistan.

It was reported in April that three hospitals in Karachi recorded a dramatic increase in the number of paediatric HIV cases over the last nine months.

The same month, an expose by the BBC revealed that “serious malpractices” in the children’s ward of a government hospital in Punjab’s Taunsa continued months after the facility was linked to an outbreak of HIV among children.

“Punjab authorities promised a crackdown – but months later, secret filming by BBC Eye Investigations found that children’s lives were still being put at risk,” the British broadcaster said.

According to the BBC investigation, at least 331 children tested positive for HIV between November 2024 and October 2025, with infections continuing even after official intervention.

An HIV outbreak in Karachi’s SITE Town was also reported in November last year, when more than 15 children were diagnosed with HIV in the densely populated neighbourhood.

At the centre of the crisis was the Kulsum Bai Valika Social Security SITE Hospital, commonly known as Valika Hospital, where the children treated for different health complaints were diagnosed with HIV.

In 2019, an outbreak in Sindh’s Ratodero resulted in hundreds of children getting infected. As the matter was of great concern, the government requested the World Health Organisation (WHO) to investigate it.

A WHO-led team then reached Pakistan, whose key tasks included ascertaining the source of the outbreak and controlling it, providing technical expertise, particularly in areas of HIV testing, paediatric HIV treatment and family counselling, and ensuring adequate supplies of rapid diagnostic tests and anti-retroviral medicines for both adults and children.

It was later revealed that the repeated use of injections was the main reason for the outbreak.