11 Nov 2024
Islamabad: Federal Minister for Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives Prof. Ahsan Iqbal chaired a meeting on Monday to review the progress of the Prime Minister’s initiatives for the prevention and control of Diabetes Mellitus and the elimination of Hepatitis C. The meeting aimed to assess the current status, address challenges, and expedite efforts toward achieving project goals.
The Planning Minister emphasized the necessity of mass screening for Hepatitis C, citing international examples, including Egypt, which successfully brought down the incidence of hepatitis c to zero. The project, valued at Rs. 67 billion, will be implemented on a cost-sharing basis between the federal government and provinces, with priority given to districts with the highest burden of the disease.
To ensure the project’s success, the Minister underscored the need for highly professional and competent staff, including IT professionals, procurement specialists with relevant experience, and communication experts to enhance public awareness. He directed the formation of a steering committee led by the Federal Health Minister/ Secretary Health and comprising of health secretaries from all four provinces and experts of the field. This committee will meet quarterly to oversee progress and address any operational issues. Furthermore, the Minister emphasized the importance of conducting a training program for screening teams, enabling them to work in parallel for rapid screening completion. The use of disposable kits for screening was mandated for safety and accuracy.
The Planning Minister also stressed collaboration with the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), which possesses valuable data collection experience and infrastructure, including tablets used during the national census. He called for the resolution of all provincial-level practical issues to facilitate smooth project execution.
In terms of Diabetes prevention, the Planning Minister directed the launch of media campaigns to raise public awareness, focusing on behavior change and targeting the working class. He emphasized that campaigns should be conducted in regional languages to ensure the message reaches the grassroots level, fostering widespread awareness and promoting healthy lifestyle changes.
The scope of PC-I for the Prime Minister’s Programme for the Elimination of Hepatitis C includes the procurement of necessary commodities, operational costs, and the establishment of a Project Management Unit (PMU). The federal government will provide full support for Rapid Diagnostic Tests (RDT) and share 30% of the costs for Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) testing with provinces and contributing equally to medicine costs.
Regarding the Prime Minister’s Programme for the Prevention of Diabetes Mellitus, the scope involves prevention, diagnosis, and treatment through awareness campaigns, diagnostic facilities at primary healthcare centers, and referral systems for treatment at higher-level facilities. The PC-I was initially approved by the Central Development Working Party (CDWP) on June 26, 2023, with directives for expanding its scope based on provincial consultations and ensuring a performance-based mechanism. The provinces are expected to contribute 50% of the project’s Rs. 6.8 billion cost.
The meeting was attended by the Secretary Health, Chief Health, Dr. Saeed Akhtar MD, and senior officials from relevant stakeholders, who provided updates and discussed next steps to ensure the timely execution of both initiatives.
Comments are closed.