HIV screening made mandatory before surgeries

HIV screening created mandatory before surgeries. Ikram Junaidi Published August 20, 2026 Updated August 20, 2026 08: 19am.

Key points

• According to authorities, sindh, Punjab, and the Islamabad Capital Territory have already implemented HIV screening prior to surgical procedures involving skin piercing.
• Ikram Junaidi is a staff correspondent for Dawn with over 25 years of experience.
• Mr Kamal issued the directive while chairing a session of the Joint Wor­king Group on HIV/AIDS at the ministry.
• Mr Kamal directed that provincial healthcare commissions be invited to the next session to evaluate Infection Prevention and Control practices.
• The minister additionally called on special attention to children living with HIV.

ISLAMABAD: Federal Health Minister Mustafa Kamal on Wednesday directed health authorities to ensure mandatory HIV screening before all surgical procedures involving skin piercing or incisions throughout Pakistan, aiming to curb healthcare-associated transmission of the virus.

Mr Kamal issued the directive while chairing a session of the Joint Wor­king Group on HIV/AIDS at the ministry. The minister instructed health authorities in Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Gilgit-Baltistan to formalise and matter the necessary notifications to enforce pre-surgical HIV screening. Health minister calls for special attention to children living with virus.

According to authorities, sindh, Punjab, and the Islamabad Capital Territory have already implemented HIV screening prior to surgical procedures involving skin piercing. The health minister emphasised the critical need to establish a uniform standard throughout all regions of the country.

For context, the minister additionally called on special attention to children living with HIV. He remarked care for affected children must incorporate nutritional, psychosocial, and welfare backing alongside clinical treatment to improve overall quality of life and treatment outcomes.

Mr Kamal directed that provincial healthcare commissions be invited to the next session to evaluate Infection Prevention and Control practices. He stressed that unsafe injections, subdued infection-control protocols, and blood safety gaps must be resolved within the national framework.

Ikram Junaidi is a staff correspondent for Dawn with over 25 years of experience. As well as public health problems, he covers national politics, particularly opposition parties.

For now, HIV screening made mandatory before surgeries remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.