No-cost hepatitis C services open in GB and AJK
Residents of Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir can now walk into designated sites for free hepatitis C checks, laboratory confirmation and medicines. The step sits under the Prime Minister’s National Programme for the Elimination of Hepatitis C and, officials say, mirrors the package already offered in Islamabad.
Official sources put the new network at three centres in Gilgit-Baltistan and six in Azad Jammu and Kashmir. The Ministry of National Health Services has asked people living in both areas to use the nearest listed site and to tell relatives and neighbours about the offer so more households take part.
What patients receive at no charge
Eligible patients are promised an unpaid first screen, a PCR laboratory test—PCR means a blood assay that confirms whether the virus is still active—priced at about Rs8,000 if bought privately, and a full course of antiviral medicines valued between Rs34,000 and Rs68,000. All of those steps are described as free for those who qualify.
Health officials underline that hepatitis C can be cured. They say prompt testing, a confirmed diagnosis and finishing the prescribed course are the surest ways to avoid long-term harm and to cut onward spread.
Why early detection matters
Pakistan carries a large share of the global burden: officials cite about 11 million people living with the infection at home and some 60 million worldwide. The virus moves through unclean blood, unsafe needle use and shared or poorly sterilised razor tools. Without treatment it can scar the liver and raise the chance of liver cancer.
Anyone unsure where to go can call the government’s free phone line, 1166, for directions to centres and advice on care. The ministry frames the GB and AJK rollout as the next phase after Islamabad, with a stated aim of carrying the same free pathway into further provinces and regions.
Timeline: what has happened so far
- Earlier: The free pathway first opened in Islamabad under the same national programme.
- 1 November 2026: Screening, PCR confirmation and treatment sites begin operating in Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
- Next: The government says it plans to take the unpaid screening-to-treatment chain to more of the country.
Aasan alfaaz mein
Gilgit-Baltistan aur AJK mein hepatitis C ka muft check-up aur ilaj shuru ho gaya hai. Teen centres GB mein aur chhe AJK mein kaam kar rahe hain. PCR test aur dawaiyan bhi muft mil sakti hain. Mazeed maloomat ke liye 1166 par call karein.
