NWFP(PUKHTUNKHWA)Govt fails to provide Hepatitis drugs to patients.

PESHAWAR: The lackluster performance of the NWFP health department can be judged by the fact that it had provided medicines for Hepatitis B & C to only 3504 patients out of a total 9735 registered patients, during last four years (2005-2009). According to the details available to The Frontier Post there are a total of 1463 registered patients of Hepatitis-B and 8272 registered patients of Hepatitis-C in NWFP. A source of the health department said, due to the financial constraints the department had failed to provide medicines of the said diseases to majority of the registered patients. The department is looking towards the government for funds in order to provide medicines to the remaining patients, the source added. However, the government has approved Rs 360.470 million Prevention and Control of Hepatitis NWFP project which according to the source would help in better control of the disease. The government every year arranges World Hepatitis Day and spends huge amount on advertisement and arranging functions and still it is unable to provide medicines to all the registered patients. According to the statistics these patients are registered in 17 DHQs and four major hospitals of Peshawar. Hepatitis has become a major public health issue in recent years. Globally 385 million people infected with Hepatitis B, 200 million people infected with Hepatitis C, 85% gets chronic infection. The Annual Incidence rate of HCV is 3-4 million; disease specific death rate is one million. In Pakistan the current prevalence rate of Hepatitis B is 3-4% (6 million infections) and Hepatitis C is 5-6% (7.5 million infections). According to sources of the Health Department in NWFP and FATA all five distinct types of hepatitis viruses; A-E are prevalent. Current estimated prevalence of Hepatitis B is 0.7852 million in NWFP & 0.124 million infections in FATA, and Hepatitis C is 1.1778 million in NWFP and 0.19 million infections in FATA. Unsafe injection and unhygienic invasive practices (dentists, barbers, beauty parlors, ear and nose piercing etc.) apparently appears to be the major causes of the disease in the NWF Province. The overall social and economic impact of chronic Hepatitis B&C are devastating. The Prime Minister Program for Prevention and Control of Hepatitis in Pakistan was launched on August 29, 2005 to substantially decrease the prevalence, morbidity and mortality due to viral hepatitis in the general population by utilizing the existing health infrastructure. The total cost of the program is Rs.2.59 billion for financial years 2005 till 2010. But, even than the government has failed to control the said disease and provide vaccine to the registered patients. The foreign donor agencies have more concerned about unregistered patients which may run manifold than official statistics. The government should be register as many people as according to the statistics given above, there is still a huge number of people that have not yet been registered.