- 17 hepatitis C test facilities established in Islamabad.
- Kamal says screening to be conducted in GB as well.
- Hepatitis C patients will be provided with free medicine.
Federal Minister for Health Mustafa Kamal on Tuesday declared hepatitis C testing mandatory for all employees of the health department, warning that untested employees would not receive their salaries from next month.
Addressing the inauguration ceremony for hepatitis C screening, Mustafa Kamal announced a nationwide expansion of screening under the Prime Minister’s Programme for the Prevention of disease, urging every eligible Pakistani to undergo screening for the potentially life-threatening disease.
He said measures were also being taken to make screening mandatory for employees of all federal ministries, adding that letters were being sent to all ministries in this regard.
“Employees in the health department who do not undergo hepatitis C tests will have their salaries stopped,” said Kamal.
The minister said 17 screening points had been established in Islamabad, while private hospitals would also be provided with screening kits and digital gadgets to facilitate screening. The programme would subsequently be expanded across the country.
“Every Pakistani will have to undergo screening,” he said, adding that screening of people aged above 12 would be prioritised.
Kamal said around 11 million people in Pakistan were currently hepatitis C positive, describing the disease as dangerous because it often remained undetected until serious complications developed.
“If hepatitis C is not diagnosed and treated in time, it can develop into liver cancer,” he warned, stressing the importance of early screening and treatment.
He said medicines costing around Rs68,000 would be provided free of charge to patients under the Prime Minister’s programme and urged people to avail themselves of the free screening and treatment facilities.
The minister said screening would also be conducted in Gilgit-Baltistan and Islamabad.
He said people deported and returning to Pakistan would be required to undergo screening, while all flights would also be subjected to the screening process for three months.
He said the government was using gadgets provided by the Bureau of Statistics along with census software, while the system had been connected with Nadra records to facilitate identification and tracking of individuals.
Kamal said the government was considering linking hepatitis C screening with the Computerised National Identity Card (CNIC), while screening could also be made mandatory before travelling abroad.
He said hepatitis C was primarily transmitted through infected blood and stressed that timely screening was essential to prevent its spread and reduce the disease burden.
The minister appealed to citizens to undergo screening and take full advantage of the free facilities being offered under the government’s programme.
