Islamabad [Pakistan], January 12 : Malik Mukhtar Ahmad Bharath, Coordinator to the Pakistan Prime Minister on Health, said on Saturday that Pakistan has the highest number of hepatitis C patients in the world, with 10 million of the global 60 million cases, as reported by Dawn.
While addressing participants of a seminar organised by the Health Foundation on hepatitis elimination, he said, "This places us at the heart of the global effort to eliminate this disease."
Malik Mukhtar Ahmad Bharath emphasised the urgent need for collective action to combat Hepatitis C, a significant public health challenge faced by Pakistan, according to Dawn report.
Highlighting the dire consequences if no action is taken, he said, "If we do not act, Pakistan will face over 11 million HCV cases by 2035, leading to 500,000 plus liver cirrhosis cases, over 100,000 cases of liver cancer and 130,000 HCV-related deaths."
Speaking about its economic impact, he said that it would cause of loss of more than USD 285 million annually. Bharath noted that as of 2021, only 16 per cent of Hepatitis C cases in Pakistan had received treatment, with testing and treatment access being the key challenges.
According to the statement, the federal government in collaboration with provincial governments has launched the Prime Minister's Programme for the Elimination of c(HCV) Infection to address these challenges with a plan to allocate Pakistani Rupees (PKR) 34.15 billion over the next three years.
Furthermore, the provincial government will allocate PKR 33.61 million, taking the total funding for the initiative to PKR 67.77 billion. He said, "Pakistan has made significant strides toward hepatitis elimination," Dawn reported.
He said this includes creating a National Technical Advisory Group (TAG) for hepatitis control, making national and provincial strategic frameworks, ensuring the availability of affordable generic Direct-Acting Antivirals (DAAs) and backing nationwide scaling up of vaccination, screening, testing and treatment efforts.
Pakistan PM's aide said that there was more support and technical assistance needed to bolster the efforts. He further said, "We seek support in developing detailed plans for hepatitis elimination, strengthening monitoring and healthcare systems, training healthcare workers and expanding national software and logistics. We also call for international collaboration to help us achieve our targets."
Malik Mukhtar Ahmad Bharath said the goal of the programme was to reach 50 per cent of the eligible population for screening, testing and treatment within three years, Dawn reported. He urged international partners to help Pakistan achieve 100 per cent coverage to ensure that the country meets the global HCV elimination targets before 2030.