ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) - President Asif Ali Zardari called upon all stakeholders, including government institutions, healthcare professionals, private sector partners, media, and civil society to join hands in a unified response to combat the challenge of hepatitis, besides underscoring the need of raising public awareness.
In a message on ‘World Hepatitis Day’ being observed on July 28, the president said the Day was observed to raise awareness about the dangers of hepatitis and to promote collective action to prevent and control this growing public health threat.
He said addressing hepatitis required an integrated and coordinated national response. “We must implement comprehensive strategies that combine mass awareness campaigns, effective vaccination drives, timely screening and access to treatment. It is imperative to extend these services to all segments of society, especially in underserved and rural areas.
At the same time, we must invest in training healthcare workers, enforce strict infection control protocols and strengthen the regulation and oversight of medical and blood transfusion practices,” President Secretariat Press Wing, in a press release quoted the president as saying.
The president said that raising public awareness must remain central to their efforts, adding the more people understood the risks, the better equipped they would be to protect themselves and their families.
“Through raising awareness campaigns, we can promote responsible healthcare practices and educate the people about hepatitis to help minimize the risk factors that contribute to its spread,” he added.
In Pakistan, he said, viral hepatitis continued to pose a public health challenge with millions silently suffered due to late diagnosis, lack of awareness and inadequate healthcare services. The rising incidence of hepatitis was putting burden on the healthcare system as well as economy.
“Hepatitis is often called as a “silent killer,” hepatitis progresses unnoticed until it causes irreversible liver damage. If left untreated, it can lead to life-threatening complications such as cirrhosis and liver failure. Its quiet spread has made it a silent epidemic. The disease is preventable, provided its root causes are effectively addressed,” the president observed.
He emphasized that the day served as a reminder that hepatitis is both preventable and treatable. With collective efforts and coordinated action, they would surmount this challenge and move toward a healthier and hepatitis-free future.
GOVT MAKING EFFORTS TO CONTAIN HEPATITIS: PM
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the government was making concerted efforts to contain the hepatitis epidemic and has launched the Prime Minister’s National Programme for the Elimination of Hepatitis C, which aimed to screen over 165 million people by 2030 and provide free treatment to all positive cases.
In a message on the occasion of World Hepatitis Day, he said, “This is a national movement that is a testament to our collective commitment to saving lives and securing the future. To make this vision a reality, we call on different segments of society to contribute to the efforts to end this scourge.”
He said, “On this World Hepatitis Day, we join the international community in reaffirming our commitment to eliminate hepatitis and protect the health of our people.”
“Pakistan is among the countries that are widely affected by the global hepatitis C epidemic. Viral hepatitis is one of the global public health challenges,” he remarked.
He said, “A large number of people infected with hepatitis B or C remain undiagnosed and untreated. While hepatitis poses a threat to all segments of society, certain segments of population remain at higher risk, including those receiving unsafe blood transfusions, patients undergoing unregulated medical procedures, newborns of infected mothers, healthcare workers, while the user of contaminated equipment or reused syringes, inadequate infection control, especially in rural and under-resourced areas, increase the risk.”
The prime minister said, “Raising awareness about hepatitis is essential not only to break the stigma surrounding the disease, but also to prevent new infections and ensure timely treatment for those affected. We must encourage people to get tested, seek medical advice, and not put off treatment due to fear or stigma.
Our healthcare professionals, researchers, and frontline workers are working tirelessly, and they need the support of the entire community.”
“Today, we reaffirm our collective responsibility to build a healthy, safe, and hepatitis-free Pakistan,” he concluded.