Hepatitis Screening Made Mandatory for All Health Ministry Employees and People Above 12

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Health Syed Mustafa Kamal has made hepatitis C screening mandatory for all employees of the Ministry of Health, from the minister to office boys, and said the government is ensuring screening of every person above the age of 12 across the country under the Prime Minister’s Hepatitis C Elimination Programme.

The federal health minister inaugurated the hepatitis C screening of officers and employees of the Ministry of Health. He said letters were also being sent to all institutions under the Ministry of Health and federal ministries to ensure screening of their employees.

Mustafa Kamal said the national hepatitis C screening programme was launched from Islamabad because it was intended for the entire country. Seventeen government-run screening centres are currently operating in Islamabad, while the government is also engaging private hospitals to expand free screening facilities.

He said the government aims to screen every person above the age of 12 across Pakistan. Screening kits and necessary equipment have also been arranged for Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, where the screening process will begin soon. The provinces are also gradually joining the national campaign.

The minister said people deported from abroad were also being screened at international airports and other important entry and exit points. The government plans to further expand the programme over the next two to three months.

He said the entire screening system had been linked with modern digital technology. Modern equipment used by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics for the census was being utilised, while all screening data was being recorded digitally and in real time.

According to Mustafa Kamal, screening records would be linked with the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) data, ensuring that information about an individual’s screening remains available in the future.

The federal minister said approximately 11 million people in Pakistan were believed to be suffering from hepatitis C. However, the actual number of affected people would only become clear after completion of nationwide screening. He said large-scale screening was essential because Pakistan has one of the highest numbers of hepatitis C carriers in the world.

Mustafa Kamal described hepatitis C as a silent and dangerous disease that is often detected at a late stage. If not diagnosed in time, it can cause severe liver damage and eventually lead to liver cancer. However, he said, the disease can be effectively and completely treated if detected at an early stage.

He said the government was providing three months of hepatitis C treatment free of cost to patients. The medicines are worth approximately Rs34,000, while a second course can also be provided where necessary, bringing the value of free medicines for a patient to around Rs68,000. Screening tests are also completely free for the public.

The federal minister said he had also undergone hepatitis C screening himself and, الحمدللہ, his test result was negative.

He urged the people of Islamabad to benefit from the facility by visiting their nearest screening centre with their national identity cards and getting themselves tested within a few minutes.

He also urged parents to ensure that their children above the age of 12 and other family members undergo screening.

Mustafa Kamal said timely diagnosis was essential not only for protecting individuals but also for safeguarding families and society as a whole. He urged citizens to take advantage of the free screening and treatment facilities and support the government’s national campaign to eliminate hepatitis C.