KARACHI: MM Group of Companies and The Health Foundation have joined hands to provide free screening and treatment for hepatitis patients and first center has been setup in Keamari.

The initiative will provide free of cost treatment, testing, and screening for Hepatitis A, B and C patients for the residents of Komati which has seen a rising number of case for the disease. Leader of opposition in Sindh Assembly Firdous Shamim Naqvi inaugurated the initiative. On the occasion Shahnawaz Jadoon Member provincial Assembly, Mawish Moulvi and Mohaib Moulvi director MM group of companies were also present on the occasion.

Mawish Moulvi informed that as per World Health Organisation (WHO) statistics, approximately five and 10 million people are infected with hepatitis B and C respectively in Pakistan. In Karachi, much of the cases have been concentrated in Kemari which the joint initiative seeks to address, she added.

She informed that in the ratio of hepatitis patients in Kemari is some 15 percent as against some 5 percent in the other parts of the city.

“Viral hepatitis is three to four times more lethal than the Coronavirus infection as it is resulting in around 300 deaths daily in Pakistan, she mentioned.

Mahwish said there are thousands of new patients of hepatitis in Pakistan due to lack of prevention, testing and treatment resources as well as unscreened blood transfusion, improperly sterilized medical devices and unsafe injections

She said that Hepatitis B is considered dangerous because it is a ‘silent infection’. This means that many people who are infected are unaware that they have contracted it and can unknowingly pass in on to others.

“Kemari has a steady rise in hepatitis cases due to the dismal healthcare system, therefore first free screening and treatment center has been setup there, while more centers will be setup in future in other parts of the city”, she informed.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020