Hepatitis C prevalence in Pakistan is the highest of any country, the Ministry of National Health Services told the National Assembly on Friday, citing World Health Organization estimates of roughly nine million people living with the virus.
The same briefing put Hepatitis B at more than 3.86 million cases. Together, chronic B and C infections exceed 12.9 million. Lawmakers also heard that Pakistan sits among the ten countries with the most deaths tied to Hepatitis C.
Scale of the viral burden
Officials said hepatitis claims around 48,000 lives in Pakistan each year. Fresh Hepatitis C infections topped 88,000 in 2024 alone. Those numbers place Hepatitis C prevalence in Pakistan at the centre of a wider viral-disease load that already strains hospitals and testing services.
The ministry framed the country as holding the single largest pool of Hepatitis C patients globally. That ranking rests on the WHO figures presented to the Assembly rather than a new national census announced in the session.
Mental health pressure alongside viral disease
Alongside the viral data, the ministry reported that 32.4 million people now live with mental health disorders, up from 30 million in 2019—an increase of 2.4 million in four years. The capital alone accounts for more than 300,000 of those cases.
Registered psychiatrists number only 1,050 nationwide, or about one for every 245,000 residents. Provincial tallies were given as 406 in Punjab, 228 in Sindh, 122 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 44 in Balochistan.
HIV figures shared in the same sitting
The briefing estimated that more than 417,000 people are living with HIV, while registration covers 92,148. Of those registered, 67,878 receive antiretroviral therapy. Yearly new HIV diagnoses rose from about 16,000 in 2010 to 48,000 in 2024, and screening climbed from 37,944 tests in 2020 to 374,000 in 2025.
Nearly 3,900 children were registered as HIV-positive from January 2025 through June 2026. Sindh listed 1,915, Punjab 1,765, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 139, Balochistan 46, Islamabad 30, Azad Jammu and Kashmir four, and Gilgit-Baltistan one.
Aasan alfaaz mein
Pakistan mein Hepatitis C ke sab se zyada mareez hain, sehat ministry ne Assembly ko bataya. Lagbhag nau million log is virus se pehle se mutasir hain, aur 2024 mein 88,000 se zyada naye cases aaye. Hepatitis har saal lagbhag 48,000 mautun ka sabab bhi banta hai. Inhaalat se andaza hota hai ke test, ilaj aur safe blood services aam logon ke liye bohat zaroori hain.
