Federal Health Minister Mustafa Kamal chaired a meeting of the Prime Minister’s Program for Hepatitis C, where progress on screening in Islamabad was briefed to participants.
The meeting was also attended by Professor Saeed Akhtar, head of the National Technical Advisory Group on hepatitis, along with the additional secretary health, the project director of the Hepatitis C program, heads of hospitals, and the District Health Officer Islamabad.
The project director briefed the meeting on the progress of hepatitis C screening in Islamabad. Mustafa Kamal said the purpose of starting the pilot phase in the capital was to identify practical problems in the system.
He said the issues would now be resolved effectively and the system would be fully stabilized within the next 15 days. He added that timely identification and treatment of hepatitis C carriers can help stop the spread of the disease.
Mustafa Kamal said Pakistan has more than one crore hepatitis C patients and called the elimination of hepatitis C a national cause. He said the Prime Minister’s Hepatitis C Program is among the government’s top priorities.
He said making Pakistan hepatitis free is a national resolve and that the effort is not just a program but a campaign to protect the country’s future. He added that PIMS and Polyclinic hospitals will have a key role in the success of the hepatitis C program in Islamabad.
He also urged an expanded public awareness campaign so every person understands their national responsibility and gets tested. Mustafa Kamal said hepatitis C is a treatable disease and that eliminating it is a shared responsibility of the entire nation, not just the government.
He appealed to the citizens of Islamabad to take full part in the national campaign, saying the government is making full efforts to provide free screening and free treatment. He said the state is providing free treatment to everyone diagnosed with hepatitis C.
