Pakistan tops world in hepatitis C

Ministry reports 12.9m suffering from hepatitis B and C

ISLAMABAD:

More than 45 million people in Pakistan are affected by mental health disorders, hepatitis B and C, and HIV, according to figures presented by the Ministry of National Health Services to the National Assembly.

The figures show that more than 32.4 million people suffer from mental health disorders, while 12.9 million are affected by hepatitis B or C.

The number of people living with HIV has also exceeded 417,000, while nearly 3,900 HIV-positive children were registered between January 2025 and June 2026, according to the ministry's data.

According to the report, the number of people suffering from mental health disorders increased from 30 million in 2019 to 32.4 million in 2023, marking a rise of 2.4 million during the period.

More than 300,000 people in the federal capital alone are affected by mental health disorders.

The report also highlighted a severe shortage of psychiatrists in the country, with only 1,050 specialists registered nationwide. This translates into just one psychiatrist for every 245,000 people.

Provincial figures show that Punjab has 406 registered psychiatrists, followed by Sindh with 228, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with 122 and Balochistan with 44, according to the document.

Pakistan also ranks first globally in the number of hepatitis C patients and is among the 10 countries with the highest number of deaths from the disease, the report said.

Citing World Health Organisation (WHO) figures, the Ministry of National Health Services informed the house that the number of hepatitis C patients in Pakistan had reached nine million, while more than 3.86 million people were suffering from hepatitis B.

The combined number of people affected by hepatitis B and C stands at 12.9 million.

The country records around 48,000 deaths annually due to hepatitis, while more than 88,000 new hepatitis C infections were reported in 2024, according to the report.

The ministry also presented details of people affected by HIV/AIDS, stating that, according to the WHO, more than 417,000 people in Pakistan were living with HIV.

Of these, 92,148 were registered with the relevant authorities, while 67,878 people were receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART).

The report further revealed that the annual number of HIV cases had increased from 16,000 in 2010 to 48,000 in 2024.

It also recorded a significant increase in HIV screening, which rose from 37,944 tests in 2020 to 374,000 in 2025.