PM Shehbaz directs comprehensive screening in government hospitals to eliminate hepatitis, HIV

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday directed authorities to ensure thorough screening of all patients in public hospitals to eliminate hepatitis and HIV, reiterating the government’s determination to provide the best healthcare services to citizens.

The directive was issued as the prime minister chaired a review meeting on matters related to the Ministry of National Health Services, during which he reiterated that providing the best possible healthcare to Pakistani citizens remained one of the government’s top priorities.

According to the statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), the Prime Minister said that the government was ready to do everything possible, overcome all obstacles and make any sacrifice necessary to save even a single precious life.

He also directed the Ministry of National Health Services to develop, in coordination with provincial governments, an integrated system for timely reporting of hepatitis, AIDS and other diseases. “Only through timely identification can these diseases be completely eradicated,” he observed.

Prime Minister Shehbaz further directed the Ministry of Health to accelerate the implementation of the “Prime Minister’s Hepatitis Control Programme” in collaboration with provinces, focusing on detection, testing and treatment.

To curb the spread of viral diseases, he ordered the nationwide use of self-deactivating (AD) syringes. It directed the Pakistan Drug Regulatory Authority and other relevant bodies to ensure a complete ban on reuse of syringes.

The Prime Minister reaffirmed the government’s determination to completely eradicate polio from Pakistan.

During the meeting, the Prime Minister was briefed on the ongoing measures to eliminate polio, hepatitis and AIDS. Officials informed him that 98 antiretroviral therapy centers had been established in major hospitals across the country for the treatment of AIDS, with plans to increase the number to 164 within a year.

Read more: Health Minister says 84,000 HIV cases have been recorded in Pakistan; raises concerns about funding and oversight

Attendees were also informed that AIDS screening facilities had been introduced at all international airports for illegal immigrants returning to the country.

The officials further informed that a pilot phase of the Prime Minister’s National Program for Hepatitis C Elimination would soon be launched in Islamabad, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan.

Regarding polio, the meeting was informed that recent environmental samples showed a gradual decrease in the presence of poliovirus, which was described as an encouraging development. It was added that coverage during the last anti-polio campaign reached 98 percent.

The meeting was attended by Economic Affairs Minister Ahad Khan Cheema, Finance Minister Aurangzeb, National Health Services Minister Mustafa Kamal, Minister of State for Health Dr Mukhtar Ahmad Bharath and Prime Minister’s Focal Person on Polio Ayesha Raza Farooq along with senior officials from relevant institutions.

The news came after last month’s statement by the Health Minister that the country has 84,000 registered cases of HIV/AIDS, of which 23,000 registered patients remain untraced.

Kamal said the country had 84,000 registered cases of HIV/AIDS, of which 61,000 patients were under treatment, while the remaining patients could not be traced as they were not seeking treatment.

“If these missing people don’t take medicine from here, they won’t get it from anywhere,” he said, warning that untreated patients could contribute to further transmission.