• Provinces ordered market survey, enforcement.
• Unsafe injections linked to HIV spread.
• Report on violations sought by April 27.

ISLAMABAD: Federal health authorities have ordered nationwide 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, The News reported on Thursday.

The decisions were 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 DRAP CEO Dr Obaidullah, senior health ministry officials, WHO’s deputy head in Pakistan, representatives of Unicef, executive directors of PIMS Dr Rana Imran Sikandar and Polyclinic Prof Shahzad Munir, officials from the National Institute of Health (NIH) Islamabad including its ED Dr Salman and Dr Mumtaz Ali Khan, IHRA, and infectious disease experts.

Officials said the meeting reviewed the rising number of HIV infections in both children and the general population, with particular concern over unsafe injection practices, reuse of syringes, and poor infection prevention and control measures.

Health experts say a large proportion of HIV infections are linked to the reuse of syringes and unsafe blood transfusions.

A key focus of the meeting was the widespread use of disposable syringes in clinical and informal healthcare settings, increasing the risk of transmission of HIV, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C. 

In view of this, the federal health ministry decided to constitute a sub-committee of experts to assess whether the continued use of conventional syringes should be restricted or replaced with auto-disable or auto-destruct syringes that cannot be reused.

Alongside the policy review, Drap has ordered strict enforcement of an existing ban on conventional disposable syringes through a nationwide market survey.

In a directive issued on April 22, Drap’s Division of Quality Assurance and Laboratory Testing directed the National Task Force for the eradication of spurious and substandard products to conduct a countrywide survey to ensure compliance with the ban and identify any illegal products still being sold in the market.

The letter reiterated that Drap had imposed a complete ban on the import and manufacture of conventional disposable syringes with effect from July 31, 2021, and cancelled all registrations of such products. However, concerns remain that these syringes continue to circulate, particularly in unregulated segments

. Provincial drug control authorities have been instructed to take strict regulatory action in cases of non-compliance, while a comprehensive report on findings and enforcement actions has been sought by April 27.

Officials said the crackdown aims to remove unsafe syringes from circulation and address one of the key drivers of blood-borne infections in the country.

Health experts have long warned that Pakistan remains among the highest users of therapeutic injections globally, with millions administered daily, many of them unnecessary and often delivered using unsafe practices.

Participants at the meeting stressed the need for stronger infection prevention and control systems, better monitoring of healthcare providers, and increased public awareness to discourage unnecessary injections. Officials also highlighted the importance of ensuring availability of safer alternatives, including auto-disable syringes, particularly in public sector programmes.

WASHINGTON: US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Wednesday that a number of allies in the Gulf region and in Asia have requested currency swap lines from the United States to help deal with energy shocks and other fallout from the Middle East war.

Bessent told US senators that both the US and the United Arab Emirates would benefit from a proposed swap line that President Donald Trump said he was considering on Tuesday.

Bessent did not name the countries making such requests, but told a US Senate Appropriations subcommittee budget hearing that such facilities would help stabilise financial markets amid turmoil from the Iran war.

“And swap lines, whether it’s from the Federal Reserve or the Treasury, are to maintain order in the dollar funding markets and to prevent the sale of the US assets in a disorderly way,” Bessent said. “So, the swap line would benefit both the UAE and the US, and as I said, numerous other countries, including some of our Asian allies, have also requested them.”

The US Treasury last October provided Argentina with a $20 billion currency swap to help stabilise the country’s peso during a tumultuous election period that helped strengthen the position of President Javier Milei’s party.

That swap line, backed by the Treasury’s $219 billion Exchange Stabilisation Fund, provided Argentina with a safety net of dollars that the central bank could use to help prop up the value of the peso and prevent a devaluation ahead of the vote. It has since been repaid.

Requests for Russian oil

Bessent also said that he extended sanctions relief on Russian seaborne oil for another 30 days after requests from a number of countries that are most vulnerable to oil shortages from the closed Strait of Hormuz.

The requests came during last week’s International Monetary Fund and World Bank spring meetings, he said.

The action reversed his comments last week that he would not renew expiring sanctions waivers. A separate waiver to allow countries to buy Iranian oil stranded at sea lapsed on April 19.

Bessent said estimates that Iran has gained more than $14 billion from the relief are “a myth,” but he did not provide an alternate figure.

Both waivers allowed the Treasury to supply the market with some 250 million barrels of oil stored in tankers, helping to bring down prices, Bessent said.

Asian economies in particular have struggled with lack of physical oil supplies from the Gulf region since the beginning of March, after the US and Israel launched strikes.

He said that for benchmark oil prices at $100 per barrel, “if we had not done that sanctions relief, they might have been at 150.”