ISLAMABAD: The federal government is planning to make screening for HIV, Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C mandatory before all surgeries and invasive medical procedures.
This was announced by Federal Health Minister Mustafa Kamal on Tuesday to strengthen early diagnosis, improve patient safety and curb spread of infectious diseases.
Speaking at a ceremony marking World Hepatitis Day here, the minister said legislation would soon be introduced requiring patients to undergo screening for three infectious diseases before surgical procedures and other invasive medical interventions.
Expressing concern over poor public response to Prime Minister’s National Hepatitis C Elimination Programme, Mustafa Kamal revealed only 21,000 people had availed themselves of free Hepatitis C screening in Islamabad during first month of the campaign.
“Nearly one month has passed, but hardly 21,000 people have got themselves screened. Screening and treatment are completely free, yet people are not coming forward. We cannot force people to get screened at gunpoint”, he said.
The minister noted many people visiting hospitals were leaving without utilising free Hepatitis C screening facility. He said government was therefore considering making Hepatitis C screening compulsory for everyone visiting both public and private healthcare facilities as part of its plan to screen and treat the entire eligible population.
Mustafa Kamal urged private hospitals and healthcare providers to join national elimination campaign, assuring them government would provide free diagnostic kits and medicines for screening and treatment.
He said every Pakistani aged 12 years and above would be screened under the programme, while all patients diagnosed with Hepatitis C would receive treatment free of charge.
According to the minister, Hepatitis C screening typically costs around Rs7,000, while a standard three-month antiviral treatment costs approximately Rs34,000. Both expenses, he said, would be fully covered by government under the elimination programme.
Warning about dangers of delayed treatment, Mustafa Kamal said untreated Hepatitis C could silently progress to liver cirrhosis and liver cancer.
He emphasised the disease is now curable in more than 95 percent of cases if diagnosed and treated early.
Declaring Hepatitis C a national emergency, minister said Pakistan could no longer afford to lose lives to a disease that is preventable, detectable and curable. He noted Pakistan carries one of world’s highest Hepatitis C burdens, with more than 10 million people living with infection and approximately 110,000 new infections reported annually.
The Prime Minister’s National Hepatitis C Elimination Programme aims to screen more than 164 million people across the country in phases. The federal government is directly implementing initiative in Islamabad Capital Territory, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and Gilgit-Baltistan, while provincial governments are gradually expanding it nationwide.
Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal said eliminating Hepatitis C was not only a public health priority but also a national development imperative. He urged Pakistan to follow Egypt’s successful model through sustained political commitment, inter sectoral coordination and active public participation.
Chairman of Pakistan Kidney and Liver Institute and Research Centre (PKLI), Prof Saeed Akhtar, said programme was designed on successful Egyptian model, which demonstrated nationwide screening, early diagnosis and free treatment could eliminate Hepatitis C within a few years. He called on all stakeholders, including public and private healthcare sectors, to fully support initiative to help Pakistan achieve its 2030 elimination target.
Federal Health Secretary Muhammad Aslam Ghauri reaffirmed ministry’s commitment to implementing programme across the country in close coordination with provincial governments and development partners to ensure universal access to screening and treatment.
World Health Organisation Representative in Pakistan Dr Luo Dapeng reiterated the WHO’s support for Pakistan’s Hepatitis C elimination efforts, saying the country’s strong political commitment and nationwide screening campaign presented a unique opportunity to replicate Egypt’s success and eliminate the disease.
Renowned gastroenterologist Prof Huma Qureshi stressed the need for greater public awareness and community participation, urging people to take advantage of government’s free screening and treatment facilities to halt the silent spread of Hepatitis C.
National Programme Director for Prime Minister’s Hepatitis C Elimination Programme, Dr Muhammad Dawar, also addressed the ceremony.
