PM Shehbaz orders comprehensive screening in government hospitals to rule out hepatitis, HIV

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

The directive was issued as the Prime Minister chaired a review meeting on issues 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 the government was ready to do everything, overcome all obstacles and make all necessary sacrifices to save even one precious life.

He also tasked 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 rapid 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 Program’ in collaboration with the 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 Pakistan Drug Regulatory Authority and other relevant agencies to ensure a complete ban on the reuse of syringes.

The Prime Minister reaffirmed the government’s resolve 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 the country’s main hospitals for the treatment of AIDS, and that they planned to increase this number to 164 within a year.

Learn more: Health Minister Says 84,000 HIV Cases Have Been Recorded in Pakistan; raises concerns about funding and oversight

The meeting was also told that AIDS testing facilities had been set up at all international airports for illegal immigrants returning to the country.

The officials further said that a pilot phase of the Prime Minister’s National Program for Hepatitis C Elimination would be launched soon 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 media coverage of the latest anti-polio campaign reached 98 percent.

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

The development comes after the Health Minister’s statement last month that the country has 84,000 registered HIV/AIDS cases, of which 23,000 registered patients remain untraceable.

Kamal said the country had 84,000 registered HIV/AIDS cases, 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 get medicine from here, they’re not going to get it from nowhere,” he said, warning that untreated patients could contribute to further transmission.