CHANDIGARH, Jul 5 (Agencies)As Pakistan braces for another intense monsoon season, people living with HIV fear a repeat of last year’s devastating floods that cut off access to life-saving medicines, putting thousands at risk of severe health complications, reports Dawn.
For Khalid (name changed), a daily wage worker from Buner in north-western Pakistan, saving his family’s HIV medication became more important than rescuing any valuables when floodwaters engulfed their home during the 2025 monsoon.
As contaminated floodwater rushed into their house, Khalid and his wife first helped their three children reach safety before wading through neck-deep water to retrieve their antiretroviral (ART) medicines.
“The waist-deep mud left behind by floodwaters had cut off our village for more than eight days. Thankfully, my wife and I still had our HIV medication with us,” Khalid recalled.
The floods, which claimed more than 1,000 lives, displaced nearly three million people, and damaged around 230,000 homes, created an additional crisis for HIV patients who rely on uninterrupted treatment.
According to Asma Nasim, head of the Department of Infectious Diseases at the Sindh Institute for Urology and Transplantation, many HIV-positive patients fell ill after being cut off from antiretroviral therapy centres.
“During last year’s floods, many people with HIV got sick because they were cut off from antiretroviral therapy centres and couldn’t access drugs,” she said.
Pakistan provides free HIV treatment through dedicated ART centres. However, experts warn that even short interruptions can have serious consequences.
“Gaps in treatment have severe health consequences, including viral rebound, immune system damage and progression to AIDS,” said Asghar Ilyas Satti, National Coordinator of the Association of People Living with HIV-Pakistan.
“For HIV patients, who are already navigating stigma and fragile health systems, climate disasters are not only destroying their homes and livelihoods, but also endangering access to essential medication.”