Govt working on a National Action Plan to eliminate viral hepatitis C: health minister Nadda

Published on: Jul 28, 2017, 21:22:17 IST

By Rhythma Kaul

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India has close to 50 million people living with viral hepatitis B & C. (PIB)

Around 6-12 million people are living with hepatitis C in India, and close to 35,000 succumb to the infection each year.

Union health ministry is working on the National Action Plan for Hepatitis C that shall be completed by December this year, and expected to be rolled out by next year.

Health minister JP Nadda made the announcement during a national technical consultation on viral hepatitis at New Delhi’s Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences (ILBS) on World Hepatitis Day on Friday.

Viral hepatitis are mainly of four types-- water and food borne A & E, and blood-borne B & C, and like HIV/AIDS, blood-borne viral hepatitis has stigma attached to it.

“Government is committed to ensuring that there is no discrimination on the basis of a patient suffering from hepatitis. It will be part of the action plan,” said Nadda.

ILBS was formally inaugurated as a World Health Organisation (WHO) collaborating centre for viral hepatitis and liver diseases in 2015. The theme of this year’s workshop was ‘Framework of National Program on Viral Hepatitis in India.’

According to rough estimates, 6-12 million suffer from hepatitis C in India, and close to 35,000 people succumb to the infection each year.

“We will come up with a comprehensive plan in a couple of months, and we expect to provide treatment to about 60 lakh people even in remotest of areas of the country,” said Dr SK Sarin, director- ILBS.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rhythma Kaul
Rhythma Kaul is the national health editor of the Hindustan Times. She has been reporting on public health, medicine, and medical research, with a particular focus on how government decisions and health system reforms shape people’s lives. Rhythma has over 25 years of journalistic experience. She joined Hindustan Times in 2008, and has since covered everything from pandemics and infectious diseases to cutting‑edge medical research and climate‑related health challenges. Her stories routinely track the work of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, department of pharmaceuticals, and key national health programmes, making complex medical science and policy accessible to a wide audience. One of her prominent news breaks has been the 2012 Baby Falak case: A two-year-old brutally battered baby girl was admitted to AIIMS-Delhi with severe head injuries, multiple fractures, human bite marks, and burns. The police investigation revealed this to be a case of multi-state human-trafficking racket. She was profiled by The Wall Street Journal for breaking this story. Rhythma holds a Master’s degree from Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi. Prior to Hindustan Times, she worked with the India Today Group. Rhythma can be contacted at rhythma.kaul@hindustantimes.com. Her X handle is @RamblingBrook.Read More

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