14m registered hepatitis patients in Pakistan, says health minister

[Guest guest]

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010%5C02%5C10%5Cstory_10-2-2010_p\

g7_13

14m registered hepatitis patients in Pakistan, says health minister

ISLAMABAD: There are an estimated 14 million people suffering from the hepatitis

epidemic in the country, out of which 8.8 million people are suffering from

hepatitis C, while 5.6 million are infected with hepatitis B, Health Minister

Makhdoom Shahabuddin told Senate on Tuesday. The health minister made the

comments during the “question hour” in the National Assembly (NA) session. He

revealed that under the Prime Minister’s Programme for Prevention and Control of

hepatitis, 32,998 hepatitis C patients and 6,270 hepatitis B patients were

provided medical treatment during fiscal years 2005-06 and 2008-09. To questions

raised by other senators, he said the ministry was preparing a new health

policy, which was to be announced this week, but had been delayed to get

feedback from all stakeholders. He said the government is spending Rs 13 billion

on the hepatitis prevention programme annually, and would allocate more funds

during the next fiscal year. staff report