Public health: Medicines being procured to treat hepatitis C patients

Salman Rafique says awareness crucial to fight the disease

LAHORE: The provincial government is hurrying to purchase peginterferon injections at a cost of Rs180 million and sofosbuvir tablets for Rs420 million for the treatment of hepatitis patients, Chief Minister’s Adviser on Health Khwaja Salman Rafique said on Monday.

The adviser chaired a meeting of a steering and technical committee formed for the treatment and eradication of hepatitis.

Rafique stressed the need for making successful all programmes aimed at eradication of diseases. He favoured steps to educate people about preventive measures. He said that the resources available for treatment would be insufficient to cater to all patients. “Therefore, it is the need of the hour to make people aware so that more cases of hepatitis are checked,” he said. Rafique said the poor should be treated on priority… the medicine being purchased should benefit deserving patients.

Specialised Healthcare and Medical Education Secretary Najam Ahmed Shah directed the officers concerned to complete prequalification of firms to purchase the tablets for the treatment of hepatitis C. He ordered that advertisements be carried in newspapers within 15 days so that the medicines could be procured early.

Provincial Hepatitis Control Programme In-charge Dr Sabeen said that the Health Department had already provided peginterferon injections to all districts in the province for the treatment of 34,500 hepatitis C patients.

Secondary and Primary Healthcare Special Secretary Ali Jan Khan, Health Services Director General Amjad Shehzad, Additional Secretary Salman Ghani, Gujranwala Medical College Principal Mohsin Aftab, Additional Secretary (Technical) Salman Shahid, Institute of Public Health Dean Moaz Ahmed and Chief Drug Controller Dr Zaka attended the meeting.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 5^th, 2016.