World Hepatitis Day is being observed throughout the world including Pakistan on Friday to achieve elimination, greater awareness, increased diagnosis and key interventions including universal vaccination, blood and injection safety, harm reduction and treatment . In a message on this occasion, Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif has said that the purpose of observance of this day is to provide necessary awareness about this disease to the people in an effective manner. Punjab government is engaged in an organized campaign to sensitize the general public through mass media.
Meanwhile, Punjab government has also provided sufficient resources for the eradication of hepatitis. For the first time in the history of the country, Punjab government initiated a program to provide free medicines of hepatitis B and C to the registered patients through courier service. He said the government has initiated a special campaign to control this disease and therefore Punjab Hepatitis Control Program is being moved forward in an effective manner.
The CM said Pakistan Kidney & Liver Transplant Institute and Research Centre is being setup in Lahore and hoped that this institution would prove a milestone initiative in the field of kidney & liver transplantation, where liver patients will have all the latest treatment facilities under one roof. He said the pioneering state-of-the-art hepatitis filter clinic is providing medical facilities to the people in the provincial metropolis and such clinics are also being established in all districts of the province.
He said effective steps are needed to be done continuously to control the hepatitis disease. However, people can remain safe from this disease by following quality health principles and adoption of necessary precautionary measures.