Health ministry employees must get tested for hepatitis C or will not receive salaries from next month: Kamal

Health Minister Mustafa Kamal announced on Tuesday that all employees of his ministry must undergo hepatitis C screening, with salaries withheld for those who fail to comply starting next month. Kamal, addressing the Prime Minister’s Hepatitis C Elimination Programme's opening in Islamabad, himself got tested and received a negative result.

The WHO and health ministry launched the program in May, aiming to eradicate the disease by 2030. Kamal stated that the requirement would extend to other ministries as well, with letters to be sent notifying them. The eradication effort would be implemented in stages, beginning in Islamabad, where 17 screening centers were established.

Private hospitals would also offer testing facilities, aided by government-provided gadgets and kits, according to Radio Pakistan. The minister described the spread of hepatitis C in Pakistan as a "grave concern," emphasizing that effective treatment and awareness-raising could curb its spread. The federal government is consulting provinces to participate in the elimination program, which will also be initiated in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan.

According to WHO, hepatitis affects 12.9 million people in Pakistan, with 9 million infected by C and 3.8 million by B. Over 48,000 people die annually from hepatitis infections, equivalent to one death every 11 minutes, as per WHO.