Karachi’s Valika Hospital HIV tally reaches 80 as two more children test positive

• Among latest cases is three-year-old girl from Metroville.
• Father says daughter’s health declined after treatment at hospital.
• Rs2bn set aside for treatment of kids infected with HIV at hospital.

KARACHI: Two more children have tested positive for HIV, taking the total number of confirmed cases linked to Karachi’s Kulsoom Bai Valika Hospital to 80, it emerged on Saturday.

Among the latest cases is a three-year-old girl from the Metroville area. Her father said that she received treatment for a chest infection at the hospital — a Sindh Employees’ Social Security Institution (SESSI)-run health facility — before testing positive for HIV virus.

Giving details, the man said that her daughter’s health condition continued to deteriorate after being treated at the hospital. He added that doctors advised medical tests, which confirmed she was HIV-positive.

The development came days after Sindh Labour Minister Saeed Ghani had confirmed that at least 78 children had been infected with HIV/AIDS at the hospital.

The minister had promised that the government would investigate the matter thoroughly and take strict action against all those found responsible.

Earlier this month, the Sindh High Court had given the provincial government two weeks to explain the HIV outbreak at the hospital. The orders came during a hearing on a petition claiming that 200 children had been affected at the hospital due to the negligence of the staff.

The petitioner was of the view that the alleged reuse of contaminated syringes was the reason behind the HIV outbreak at the hospital in 2025.  The Sindh Labour minister described the HIV cases involving children at the SESSI-run Valika Hospital as a “serious issue”.

The Sindh Employees’ Social Security Institution, on Wednesday, allocated a sum of Rs2 billion to set up an endowment fund to provide long-term medical treatment and welfare support for the affected children.