Overview
- Pakistan’s Health Ministry, which launched the WHO-backed Prime Minister’s Hepatitis C Elimination Programme Wednesday, has set a 2030 target and a Rs67 billion budget.
- A six-month pilot in the Islamabad Capital Territory aims to screen 1.6 million people and start care for those who test positive.
- Tests that usually cost about Rs7,000 and three-to-six-month treatment courses are free, with 12 screening counters now open at federal hospitals in Islamabad.
- Nationwide outreach will use NADRA, Pakistan’s national ID authority, to contact and track patients, and the WHO will provide technical support and guidance.
- Pakistan has an estimated 10 million Hepatitis C infections and about 110,000 new cases each year, and analysts say success will require strict blood and injection safety and strong privacy rules to limit stigma from NADRA-linked data.