Islamabad: Only around 21,000 people have voluntarily undergone free Hepatitis C screening in Islamabad a month after the launch of the Prime Minister’s Hepatitis C Elimination Programme, prompting the government to consider mandatory HIV and Hepatitis B and C screening before surgeries and other invasive medical procedures.
Expressing frustration over the poor public response despite free screening and treatment, Federal Health Minister Mustafa Kamal said the government could not eliminate Hepatitis C unless people themselves came forward for testing, adding that legislation was now being prepared to make HIV and Hepatitis B and C screening mandatory before surgeries and other invasive medical procedures.
Addressing a ceremony to mark World Hepatitis Day on Tuesday, the minister said nearly one month had passed since the launch of the elimination programme in Islamabad, but only around 21,000 people had been screened in a city with a population of more than three million.
“Screening and treatment are completely free, yet people are not getting themselves screened. We cannot force people to get screened at gunpoint,” Mustafa Kamal said.
He noted that many people were visiting hospitals every day but were leaving without availing themselves of the free Hepatitis C screening facility. He said the government was now considering making Hepatitis C screening mandatory for everyone visiting public and private healthcare facilities as part of its plan to identify and treat every infected person in the country.
The minister also appealed to private hospitals, laboratories and healthcare providers to join the national elimination campaign, saying the government would provide free diagnostic kits and medicines to participating facilities for screening and treatment.
He said every Pakistani aged 12 years and above would gradually be screened under the Prime Minister’s National Hepatitis C Elimination Programme, while all individuals diagnosed with the infection would receive treatment free of cost.
Mustafa Kamal said Hepatitis C screening ordinarily costs around Rs7,000, while a standard three-month course of treatment costs approximately Rs34,000, but both expenses would be fully borne by the government. He warned that untreated Hepatitis C could silently progress to liver cirrhosis and liver cancer despite being curable in more than 95 per cent of patients when diagnosed and treated early.
Declaring Hepatitis C a national emergency, the minister said Pakistan carried one of the world’s highest Hepatitis C burdens, with more than 10 million people living with the virus and around 110,000 new infections occurring annually. He said the Prime Minister’s National Hepatitis C Elimination Programme aimed to screen more than 164 million people in phases, with the federal government currently implementing it in Islamabad Capital Territory, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan before nationwide expansion in collaboration with provincial governments.
Planning Minister Prof Ahsan Iqbal said eliminating Hepatitis C was not only a public health priority but also a national development imperative, urging all institutions and citizens to support the campaign so Pakistan could replicate Egypt’s success in eliminating the disease through mass screening and treatment.
Chairman of the Pakistan Kidney and Liver Institute and Research Centre (PKLI), Prof Saeed Akhtar, said the national elimination programme had been developed after studying Egypt’s globally recognised model, which proved that nationwide screening followed by free treatment could dramatically reduce the Hepatitis C burden within a few years. He urged both the public and private healthcare sectors to fully support the campaign to help Pakistan achieve the 2030 elimination target.
Federal Health Secretary Muhammad Aslam Ghauri said the ministry was committed to implementing the programme in close coordination with provincial governments and development partners to ensure uninterrupted screening, diagnosis and treatment services across the country.
World Health Organization Representative in Pakistan Dr Luo Dapeng reaffirmed WHO’s support for Pakistan’s Hepatitis C elimination efforts, saying strong political commitment, universal screening and timely treatment had enabled countries such as Egypt to substantially reduce the disease burden and Pakistan had the opportunity to achieve similar success.
Leading hepatologist and former national focal person for viral hepatitis Prof Dr Huma Qureshi said Hepatitis C could only be eliminated if people voluntarily came forward for early screening, adding that awareness and timely diagnosis remained the most effective tools for preventing complications and stopping transmission.
National Programme Director for the Prime Minister’s Hepatitis C Elimination Programme Dr Muhammad Dawar said screening facilities were being expanded and implementation of the programme was progressing in phases to ensure nationwide access to free diagnosis and treatment.
The minister also highlighted Pakistan’s wider public health challenges, including maternal mortality, malnutrition, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and antimicrobial resistance, saying the country’s healthcare system must shift its focus from treating diseases to preventing them, while urging citizens to take full advantage of the government’s free Hepatitis C screening and treatment programme.
Ends