ISLAMABAD:
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday directed authorities to ensure comprehensive screening of all patients in public hospitals to eliminate hepatitis and HIV, reiterating the government’s resolve to provide the best healthcare services to citizens.
The directive was issued as the premier chaired a review meeting on matters related to the Ministry of National Health Services, during which he reiterated that the provision of the best possible healthcare to Pakistani citizens remained among the government’s top priorities.
According to the statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), the premier said the government was prepared to go to every length, overcome all obstacles, and make any sacrifice necessary to save even a single precious life.
He also instructed 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 fully eradicated,” he observed.
The premier further directed the health ministry to accelerate implementation of the “Prime Minister’s Hepatitis Control Programme” in collaboration with provinces, focusing on screening, testing and treatment.
To curb the spread of viral diseases, he ordered the nationwide use of auto-disable (AD) syringes. He directed the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan and other relevant bodies to ensure a complete ban on the reuse of syringes.
During the meeting, the premier was briefed on ongoing measures to eliminate polio, hepatitis and AIDS. Officials informed him that 98 anti-retroviral therapy centres 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.
The meeting was also told that AIDS screening facilities had been introduced at all international airports for illegal immigrants returning to the country.
Officials further briefed that a pilot phase of the Prime Minister’s National Programme for Hepatitis C elimination would soon be launched in Islamabad, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and Gilgit-Baltistan.
NA panel alarmed
A parliamentary panel on Tuesday raised alarm over the HIV/AIDS situation, rejected calls for an in-camera briefing and demanded transparency as officials disclosed that more than 84,000 cases have been registered nationwide, with thousands of patients lost to follow-up.
The National Assembly’s Standing Committee on National Health Services, chaired by Mahesh Kumar Malani, said the issue was urgent, sensitive and required coordinated national action.
Ministry of Health officials informed the committee that registered HIV cases had reached 84,000, of which around 61,000 patients were currently under treatment, while more than 16,000 patients had dropped out during treatment and could no longer be traced.
The ministry attributed the rise in reported cases largely to expanded screening.
It said that in 2020, around 38,000 individuals were screened at 49 centres across the country, whereas by 2025, the number of testing centres had increased to 97, with over 374,000 tests conducted and more than 14,000 positive cases detected.
