A new documentary by the BBC World Service’s award-winning BBC Eye team, “Stolen lives: Who gave our children HIV?”, has uncovered serious malpractice within the children’s ward of a government hospital in Pakistan’s Punjab province. In 2025, THQ hospital in Taunsa was linked to an outbreak of HIV among children. Despite promises of a “massive crackdown” from Punjab authorities, a BBC Eye Investigations secret filming operation months later revealed that children’s lives were still at risk.
The investigation began in early 2025 when a significant HIV outbreak among children prompted health officials to scrutinize THQ Hospital in Taunsa. Doctors from private clinics noted that many HIV-positive children had received treatment at THQ, raising suspicions of unsafe injection practices. Parents reported instances of blood-contaminated syringes being reused on their children.
Punjab’s health authorities acknowledged 106 infected children and suspended the Medical Superintendent of THQ in March 2025. However, an insider informed BBC Eye that practices remained unchanged. Undercover filming by the BBC in late 2025 documented repeated and severe breaches of basic infection control, including nurses injecting patients through clothes, reusing dirty syringes, and unqualified volunteers administering medicine from blood-contaminated vials.
The BBC’s undercover footage also exposed broader issues such as staff handling medical waste with bare hands, exposed syringes and needles, and unsupervised unqualified volunteers operating in the children’s ward, despite being officially banned. Staff shortages and supply problems appeared to contribute to these conditions, with families sometimes asked to purchase their own medicines, leading staff to reuse equipment or share medication.
“Stolen lives: Who gave our children HIV?” also reveals the true scale of the outbreak, with the BBC finding at least 331 children in Taunsa testing positive for HIV between November 2024 and October 2025. Fewer than one in 20 of their tested parents were HIV-positive, indicating a localized transmission source. Infections continued even after the government’s intervention in March 2025.
Dr. Altaf Ahmed, a consultant microbiologist and leading expert on infectious diseases in Pakistan, reviewed the BBC’s footage and confirmed that the recorded malpractice at THQ carried a high risk of transmitting blood-borne diseases, including HIV, due to contaminated vials.
When confronted with the undercover footage, Dr. Qasim Buzdar, the new Medical Superintendent appointed to improve safety after the outbreak, claimed the video must predate his tenure or might have been staged. He asserted that “Infection prevention controls are followed at THQ Taunsa.” The local government stated that “no validated epidemiological evidence” had “conclusively established THQ as a source” of the outbreak.
The previous Medical Superintendent, Dr. Tayyab Chandio, also denied responsibility. The BBC discovered that weeks after his suspension from THQ in March 2025, Dr. Chandio was re-appointed to another government clinic in Punjab, where he continues to treat children. The local government confirmed that “no inquiry outcome has legally barred” him from practice.
The documentary intertwines this evidence with the poignant stories of infected children and their families, who endure the suffering and stigma of a life-threatening disease. Some have already lost children, while others witness their children weakening, relying on daily medication. The story of 8-year-old Mohammed Amin, diagnosed in late 2025 and who died before treatment could take effect, is highlighted. Weeks later, his 10-year-old sister, Asma, also tested positive. Both had received injections at THQ hospital. Their mother, who is not infected, suspects the hospital is to blame.
Asma’s medication sustains her, but the stigma has blighted her childhood, with neighbors preventing their children from playing with her. Despite this, Asma expresses her ambition to become a doctor. HIV infections continue to be detected in Taunsa, with 19 new cases identified in the past four months. To date, nine children in Taunsa have died after contracting the disease.
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