MS patients struggle for treatment

PAKISTAN:

Patients suffering from multiple sclerosis (MS), a chronic neurological disorder that primarily affects young adults and can cause long-term disability, are facing difficulties in maintaining treatment as the disease remains excluded from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa's Sehat Card Plus programme.

Patients and healthcare advocates say the high cost of disease-modifying medicines is forcing many families to interrupt or discontinue treatment, despite its importance in reducing relapses and slowing disease progression.

Healthcare experts describe MS as an autoimmune disease in which the immune system attacks the central nervous system. Although there is no cure, timely and continuous treatment can help control symptoms and delay disability.

A 2025 analysis of Global Burden of Disease data estimated Pakistan's age-standardised MS prevalence at 9.80 per 100,000 people in 2021, compared with 8.34 in 1990. The prevalence among women was 12.31 per 100,000, against 7.38 among men.