KARACHI: Marking World Hepatitis Day 2026, the Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) joined the World Health Organization (WHO) in urging immediate nationwide action to combat viral hepatitis, calling it a silent public health crisis responsible for widespread liver disease and thousands of preventable deaths each year.
Echoing the WHO’s 2026 campaign theme, “Hepatitis: Let’s Break It Down,” the PMA called on federal and provincial governments, healthcare professionals and civil society to remove barriers to hepatitis prevention, diagnosis and treatment, including stigma, unsafe medical practices and low testing rates.
According to WHO estimates cited by the PMA, Pakistan has the world’s largest burden of hepatitis C, with an estimated 10 million people living with chronic HCV infection.
Combined with approximately 3.8 million hepatitis B cases, nearly 13.8 million Pakistanis are living with chronic viral hepatitis, making Pakistan the country with the fifth-highest overall hepatitis burden globally. The association said complications such as liver cirrhosis and liver cancer claim more than 37,000 lives annually.
The PMA said unsafe healthcare practices remain the leading driver of transmission, with Pakistan accounting for nearly 44% of new global hepatitis C infections linked to unsafe medical injections.
It added that only 25% to 30% of infected individuals know their status, leaving the majority undiagnosed and untreated.
The association identified the reuse of syringes, unsafe blood transfusions, unsterilized medical and cosmetic procedures, unlicensed medical practitioners and inadequate hepatitis B birth-dose vaccination coverage among the major causes of continued transmission.
The PMA urged authorities to accelerate implementation of the Prime Minister’s National Programme for the Elimination of Hepatitis C Infection, strengthen enforcement against syringe reuse and illegal blood banks, expand community-based screening, ensure universal hepatitis B vaccination at birth, and launch sustained public awareness campaigns highlighting that hepatitis C is curable with a 12-week oral treatment while hepatitis B is preventable through vaccination.
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“We have the science, accurate diagnostics and affordable curative medicines,” the PMA said in its statement. “What must be broken down is systemic neglect, unsafe practices and public hesitation. By strengthening prevention and early testing, a hepatitis-free Pakistan by 2030 is an achievable goal.”
