A new investigative documentary has revealed “serious malpractice” in the children’s ward of a government hospital in Pakistan’s Punjab province.
In 2025, Tehsil Headquarters Hospital (THQ) in Taunsa was connected to an outbreak of HIV among children. At the time, Punjab province authorities had announced that a crackdown will be initiated and suspended the Medical Superintendent of THQ in March of that year. However, a few months later, secret filming by ‘BBC Eye Investigations’ found that lives of children were still being put at risk, the British broadcaster has revealed.
Filmed secretly over few weeks, the BBC investigation revealed repeated and serious violation of basic infection control. The video footage showcases nurses injecting patients through their clothes, giving dirty syringes for re-use and unqualified workers injecting child after child from a blood-contaminated vial of liquid medicine.
“The BBC’s undercover filming also captures wider problems: staff handling medical waste with bare hands, syringes and needles left exposed, and unqualified volunteers – who are officially banned from the children’s ward – operating without supervision. Staff shortages and supply problems appear to be contributing to the situation. In some cases, families are asked to buy their own medicines. Under pressure, staff reuse equipment or share medication between patients to make limited supplies last,” a press released issued by the British broadcaster stated.
According to BBC, at least 331 children in Taunsa tested positive for HIV between November 2024-October 2025. Of their parents who also agreed to be tested, fewer than one in 20 tested positive for HIV. Infections continued even after the government’s announcement in March last year that crackdown will be launched.
Despite the video footage, hospital officials have denied wrongdoing. Current Medical Superintendent Dr Qasim Buzdar has said that the footage may have been recorded before his tenure or “possibly staged”.
Meanwhile, former Medical Superintendent Dr Tayyab Chandio, who was suspended during the initial crackdown launched by the government in March last year, has been reappointed at another government facility, Pakistan’s ‘Business Recorder’ reported. Officials said no legal findings prohibit him from practice.
HIV cases among children are still being reported in Taunsa. According to the BBC’s press release, 19 HIV cases have been reported in the past four months. So far, nine children have died due to HIV in Taunsa.