ISLAMABAD: Coordinator to the Prime Minister on Health Dr Malik Mukhtar Ahmad Bharath on Saturday said Pakistan has the largest number of hepatitis C patients in the world, with 10 million of the global 60 million cases.

“This places us at the heart of the global effort to eliminate this disease,” he said while addressing participants of a seminar organised by the Health Foundation on hepatitis elimination.

He also stressed the urgent need for collective action to combat Hepatitis C, a significant public health challenge facing Pakistan.

He further highlighted its dire consequences saying: “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.”

The economic impact would be a loss of over $285 million annually, he said.

Dr Bharath pointed out that as of 2021, only 16 per cent of Hepatitis C cases in the country had received treatment, with testing and treatment access being the key challenges.

According to a 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 Rs34.15 billion over the next three years.

In addition, provincial governments will contribute Rs33.61 billion, bringing the total funding for the initiative to Rs 67.77 billion.

“Pakistan has made significant strides toward hepatitis elimination,” Dr Bharath said.

This includes establishing a National Technical Advisory Group (TAG) for hepatitis control, developing national and provincial strategic frameworks, ensuring the availability of affordable generic Direct-Acting Antivirals (DAAs) and advocating for nationwide scaling up of vaccination, screening, testing and treatment efforts, he added.

However, he stressed that further support and technical assistance were needed to scale up efforts.

“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,” he added. The PM’s aide said the programme aimed to reach 50 per cent of the eligible population for screening, testing and treatment within three years.

Dr Bharath urged international partners to help Pakistan achieve 100 per cent coverage to ensure that the country meets the global HCV elimination targets before 2030.

Published in Dawn, January 12th, 2025