Federal Minister for Health Mustafa Kamal on Tuesday chaired a high-level meeting to review progress and preparedness under Pakistan’s national strategy for the elimination of Hepatitis C.
The meeting was attended by heads of federal hospitals, the District Health Officer Islamabad, the Director of the Hepatitis C Programme, and senior officials from the National Institute of Health (NIH), Directorate General Health, Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, NADRA, and other relevant stakeholders.
Officials reviewed the establishment and operational readiness of Hepatitis C diagnostic counters as part of a nationwide screening and treatment framework aimed at disease elimination.
Addressing participants, the health minister said that more than 10 million people in Pakistan are affected by hepatitis, noting that the country carries a significant share of the global Hepatitis C burden.
He stressed that urgent and coordinated interventions were essential to address the challenge.
He informed that in the first phase, 21 diagnostic counters are being set up across Islamabad, Gilgit-Baltistan, and Azad Jammu and Kashmir. This includes six centres in Gilgit-Baltistan, three in AJK, and multiple facilities in Islamabad, including PIMS Hospital, Federal General Hospital (Polyclinic), NIRM, CDA health centres, and other primary healthcare facilities.
In the second phase, the programme will be expanded to 84 health facilities in Islamabad, 618 in Gilgit-Baltistan, and 1,012 in AJK, significantly widening the screening network.
The minister directed that 12 diagnostic counters in Islamabad be made operational within a week and called for the timely availability of screening kits and medical supplies at all centres. He also instructed that a soft launch of the diagnostic counters be carried out in the federal capital.
Mustafa Kamal said all positive cases will undergo PCR confirmation and confirmed that free treatment will be provided to all diagnosed Hepatitis C patients under the programme.
He emphasized that early diagnosis, mass screening, and effective treatment are central to strengthening the healthcare system and achieving elimination targets. The government, he said, has set 2030 as the target year for eliminating Hepatitis C in Pakistan.
Describing the initiative as a national priority, the minister urged coordinated efforts from all stakeholders, stating that protecting public health remains the government’s foremost responsibility and all necessary measures will be taken to safeguard citizens.