Federal Minister for Health Syed Mustafa Kamal on Tuesday announced the nationwide expansion of Hepatitis C screening under the Prime Minister’s Program for the Prevention of Disease.
Speaking after inaugurating screening for Ministry of Health officials, Kamal said screening had become mandatory for all ministry employees. He said the government was also taking steps to make screening mandatory for employees of all federal ministries.
The minister said authorities had established 17 screening points in Islamabad and would provide private hospitals with screening kits and digital devices. He said the program would gradually expand across the country, with priority given to people aged above 12.
Kamal said around 11 million people in Pakistan were currently Hepatitis C positive and warned that the disease could lead to liver cancer if patients did not receive timely diagnosis and treatment.
The government will provide medicines costing around Rs. 68,000 free of charge to patients under the Prime Minister’s program. Kamal urged citizens to use the free screening and treatment facilities.
He said authorities would also screen people in Gilgit Baltistan and Islamabad, while deportees returning to Pakistan would undergo screening. The government will also screen all flights for three months. Kamal said the government was considering linking Hepatitis C screening with CNICs and could make screening mandatory before international travel.
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