In a country where around 15 million people are affected by hepatitis B and C, the National Database & Registration Authority (Nadra) should make hepatitis B and C screening mandatory for the registration and renewal of computerised national identity cards (CNICs), leading gastroenterologists demanded.
They also demanded that all the union committees and Nadra link the issuance of birth certificates and B Forms with mandatory administration of hepatitis B vaccine within 24 hours of a child’s birth, deploring that hardly three per cent are administered the vaccine at birth in Pakistan.
“Around 10 million people are living with the hepatitis C virus [HCV] while around five million are affected by the hepatitis B virus [HBV] in Pakistan,” gastroenterologist Dr Lubna Kamani said during the concluding session of a conference on stomach and liver diseases.“Unfortunately, most of these people are undiagnosed and spreading the deadly disease unknowingly to others.
Nadra should not issue or renew CNICs without checking the hepatitis B and C screening status of people.” The two-day sixth annual conference of the Pakistan GI & Liver Disease Society (PGLDS) had been attended by leading gastroenterologists and hepatologists from Middle Eastern, Far Eastern and European countries as well as from the US and different Pakistani cities.
The experts who spoke at the conference discussed the challenges and the advancements made in the field of gastroenterology and hepatology around the world and in the country.
Dr Lubna, who is also the PGLDS president, deplored that unnecessary injections, the use of contaminated razors and needles, and unsafe medical practices are major contributors to the spread of hepatitis B and C in Pakistan.
