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Waheed et al. Hepatoma Res 2018;4:45 I http://dx.doi.org/10.20517/2394-5079.2018.58 Page 3 of 4

Egypt, a lower middle-income country, showed excellent commitments in the fight against hepatitis. By
September 2017, a cumulative total of 1.5 million people had received HCV treatment in the country . The
[5]
Ministry of Health and Population of Egypt is planning to screen 15 million Egyptians for the presence of
HCV in 2018. World Bank offered to lend the ministry $200 million to assist its plan to screen 15 million
Egyptians for the presence of HCV .
[17]

Pakistan also needs to show strong political and financial commitments in the fight against hepatitis.
Modelling techniques suggest that HCV can become a rare disease in the next 20-25 years, with a significant
financial commitment . Extensive HCV treatment and preventive measures are required in Pakistan to
[18]
achieve the HCV elimination targets in WHO’s GHSS on viral hepatitis, without which Pakistan’s HCV
burden will increase markedly.

The elimination of Hepatitis from Pakistan by 2030 seems impossible with the current initiatives. It will be
a significant impact if the country succeeded in controlling the hepatitis from the country and reduced the
annual hepatitis deaths from 200,000 to less than 25,000. The control of hepatitis epidemics requires political
will, financial investment and support from pharmaceutical, medical and civil societies around the globe .
[19]

DECLARATIONS
Authors’ contributions
Design: Waheed Y, Siddiq M
Literature research: Waheed Y, Siddiq M
Data analysis: Waheed Y, Siddiq M
Manuscript writing: Waheed Y, Siddiq M
Manuscript editing: Waheed Y, Siddiq M
Manuscript revision: Waheed Y, Siddiq M

Availability of data and materials
Not applicable.

Financial support and sponsorship
None.

Conflicts of interest
Both authors declared that there are no conflicts of interest.

Ethical approval and consent to participate
Not applicable.

Consent for publication
Not applicable.

Copyright
© The Author(s) 2018.

REFERENCES
1. GBD 2013 mortality and causes of death collaborators. Global, regional and national age-sex specific all cause and cause specific mortality
for 240 causes of death, 1990-2013: a systematic analysis for the global burden of diseases study 2013. Lancet 2015;385:117-71.
2. Waheed Y. Transition from millennium development goals to sustainable development goals and hepatitis. Pathog Glob Health