The health authorities have ordered nationwide strict enforcement of a ban on conventional disposable syringes and launched a review of safer alternatives amid growing concern over unsafe injections linked to HIV transmission, reported 24NewsHD TV channel on Thursday.
The decision was taken at a high-level meeting chaired by Director General Health Dr Abdul Wali Khan at the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP), attended by senior officials from the health ministry, representatives of World Health Organization and UNICEF, as well as experts from major public health institutions.
Participants reviewed the rising number of HIV infections among both children and adults, expressing particular concern over the reuse of syringes, unsafe blood transfusions and weak infection prevention and control practices.
Health experts noted that a significant proportion of infections are linked to such unsafe practices.
The meeting highlighted the widespread use of conventional disposable syringes across both formal and informal healthcare settings, which increases the risk of transmission of blood-borne diseases such as HIV, Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C.
In response, the federal health ministry decided to form a sub-committee of experts to assess whether conventional syringes should be further restricted or replaced with safer alternatives such as auto-disable or auto-destruct syringes, which cannot be reused.
Alongside the policy review, the DRAP has directed strict enforcement of the existing ban through a nationwide market survey. In a directive issued on April 22, the authority’s quality assurance division instructed the National Task Force for the eradication of spurious and substandard products to ensure compliance and identify any illegal items still in circulation.
The directive reiterated that DRAP had imposed a complete ban on the import and manufacture of conventional disposable syringes from July 31, 2021, cancelling all related registrations. However, officials acknowledged concerns that such products continue to be sold, particularly in unregulated segments of the market.
Provincial drug control authorities have been instructed to take stringent action against violations, while a comprehensive report on enforcement measures has been sought by April 27.
Officials said the crackdown aims to eliminate unsafe syringes and address a major driver of blood-borne infections in the country.
Reporter Babar Shahzad Turk