ISLAMABAD: The federal health ministry is considering an independent review of the sixth round of the Integrated Biological and Behavioral Surveillance (IBBS) after serious objections were raised to its credibility, as more than 10,000 new HIV cases have been detected across the country this year, officials said on Thursday.
The proposal was discussed at a high-level meeting chaired by the Additional Secretary at the Ministry of National Health Services on the directives of Federal Health Secretary Hamed Yaqoob Sheikh. The meeting was attended by representatives of the WHO, UNICEF, UNAIDS, UNDP, the Common Management Unit (CMU) for AIDS, TB, and Malaria, civil society, and other stakeholders.
Officials said the issue of the sixth round of IBBS came under detailed discussion following concerns raised by UN agencies and national experts, who questioned data collection methods, the exclusion of key results, and the reported prevalence of HIV among different populations.
Participants agreed that an independent committee of experts from the private sector — with strong credentials in epidemiology, infectious diseases, and HIV modeling — should be formed to review the survey and assess the broader HIV situation in the country.
CMU officials told the meeting that over 10,200 new HIV cases had already been detected nationwide this year, with fresh outbreaks emerging among children and other vulnerable populations. This, they said, raised concern over both surveillance and prevention efforts.
The additional secretary said HIV prevention and control remain a top national priority and assured that the ministry would lead a transparent and coordinated response under the clear direction of Federal Health Minister Syed Mustafa Kamal.
The health director general emphasised the need to integrate HIV services within existing public health programs, strengthen provincial ownership, and ensure that all planning and resource allocation are based on accurate and verified data.
Officials also discussed the need to strengthen blood safety measures, infection control, and the integration of HIV testing with hepatitis and maternal and child health services. They also underlined the importance of adopting a responsible media communication strategy to raise awareness and reduce stigma.
A Technical Working Group, led by the director general and comprising representatives from provinces, UN agencies, and community-based organizations, is being established to prepare a focused HIV response strategy with an emphasis on integration, domestic funding, and provincial participation.
The sixth round of IBBS was conducted after almost a decade, at a cost of around $3.2 million, to assess HIV prevalence among people who inject drugs, men who have sex with men, transgender persons, female sex workers, and prisoners across 31 districts.
However, as reported earlier, faint reactive lines on rapid diagnostic tests were excluded during the IBBS, despite WHO and manufacturer guidelines clearly stating that such results should be treated as reactive and confirmed through further testing.
Internal documents show that thousands of faint-line cases were not retested, which officials and experts believe significantly underreported HIV prevalence among key populations — creating a distorted picture of the epidemic and risking misinformed policy decisions.
Minutes of meetings and email correspondence reviewed by national and international partners show that IBBS implementers were repeatedly advised to consider all faint-line cases as reactive and to retest them, but those instructions were not followed.
Health professionals and community organisations fear that overlooking these results could lead to reduced funding for prevention and treatment services, misallocation of resources, and failure to respond to the actual scale of the epidemic.