World Hepatitis Day marked: Govt to introduce legislation to make screening for HIV, Hepatitis mandatory: minister
ISLAMABAD: Declaring Hepatitis C a national emergency, Federal Minister for National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination Mustafa Kamal on Tuesday said Pakistan bears one of the world’s highest Hepatitis C burdens, with more than 10 million people living with the virus and around 110,000 new infections reported each year.
Speaking on the occasion of World Hepatitis Day, the minister announced that the government is going to introduce legislation to make screening for HIV, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C and other essential infectious diseases mandatory for patients undergoing surgery or other invasive medical procedures. He added that the screening programme will gradually be expanded across public and private hospitals nationwide to strengthen early diagnosis, disease prevention and patient safety.
He stressed that these figures cannot be treated as routine statistics and require immediate national attention, adding that the time for silence has passed and that Pakistan must now take decisive action to eliminate the disease.
He emphasized that Hepatitis C is no longer just a public health issue but a national emergency requiring an urgent and coordinated response. The minister noted that the availability of modern antiviral medicines has made Hepatitis C a curable disease with more than 95 percent of patients able to achieve complete recovery through timely diagnosis and treatment.
Kamal said that the Prime Minister’s National Hepatitis C Elimination Programme represents far more than a policy announcement. It reflects the Government of Pakistan’s firm commitment to ensuring early identification of patients through free screening, free diagnostic testing and free treatment. He added that the programme will be expanded across the country in phases to screen more than 164 million people.
He informed that the federal government was directly implementing the programme in Islamabad Capital Territory, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, while working closely with provincial governments to gradually extend its coverage nationwide. The minister expressed confidence that with collective national efforts, Pakistan can achieve the goal of becoming Hepatitis-free by 2030.
He emphasized that Hepatitis C is not an incurable disease. However, if left undiagnosed and untreated, it can cause severe liver damage, leading to liver cirrhosis and eventually liver cancer, making treatment significantly more complex. He urged citizens to undergo timely screening and seek early treatment.
He said Pakistan was implementing the same model in phases, beginning with Islamabad, through close collaboration between the Federal and Provincial Governments. The ultimate objective is to screen the entire population to ensure that every infected individual is diagnosed and treated at the earliest opportunity.
The minister announced that every individual diagnosed with Hepatitis C under the programme will receive a complete three-month course of treatment free of cost, with an estimated value of Rs34,000 per patient. If additional treatment is required, the government will also provide it free of charge. He added that all screening expenses are being fully covered by the government and urged citizens to voluntarily visit designated screening centres, where testing is available at no cost.
Kamal said the government’s priority extends beyond treating diseases to preventing them. He stressed that a modern healthcare system is built on prevention rather than cure, for which the government was strengthening maternal and child health services, routine immunization, family planning, nutrition, access to safe drinking water, environmental health and primary healthcare across the country.
Expressing concern over Pakistan’s broader public health challenges, Kamal noted that the country continues to face a high burden of preventable diseases. He highlighted that approximately 11,000 women lose their lives every year during pregnancy and childbirth due to causes that are largely preventable through timely healthcare and effective interventions.
Addressing the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance, the minister warned that the misuse and overuse of antibiotics in humans, livestock and poultry have led to increasing resistance to medicines, making infections more difficult and time-consuming to treat. He stressed that responsible use of antibiotics is essential and that protecting public health is a shared responsibility between the government and every citizen.
The minister urged the public to take full advantage of the government’s free screening services for Hepatitis and other communicable diseases.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026