ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Public Health
Sec. Public Health Policy
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1540689
Stakeholder Perspectives and the Challenges in Implementing Hepatitis C Elimination Policy in Pakistan
Provisionally accepted
- 1Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Bahawalpur, Pakistan
- 2Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
- 3The University of Sydney, Darlington, New South Wales, Australia
- 4Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department, Punjab, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan
- 5Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Islamabad, Pakistan
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Despite significant achievements in combating hepatitis C (HCV), HCV remains a major global public health issue with approximately 71 million cases and 400,000 deaths annually. The international community has taken several important steps for HCV control, including the Global Health Sector Strategy (2016-2021), the Global Hepatitis Action Plan (2011), and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN-SDGs) for 2030. However, achieving the World Health Assembly's goal of eliminating HCV by 2030 treating 90% of all infected individuals remains a significant challenge, particularly in Pakistan. This study delves into the perspectives of key stakeholders involved in the hepatitis elimination policy and its implementation in Pakistan, identifying barriers to effective policy execution and highlighting motivating factors. Through a phenomenological approach, interviews were conducted with ten key informants, including policymakers, clinicians and provincial hepatitis program personnel. Thematic analysis uncovered several critical themes: perceptions of hepatitis and elimination policies, the feasibility of achieving elimination goals, international collaborations, policy development, gaps in epidemiological data, and the influence of political contexts. The findings emphasize the need for a robust national database, stronger political commitment, better resource allocation, and a more integrated healthcare system. Drawing on successful models, such as Egypt, the study suggests that Pakistan must adopt comprehensive and coordinated strategies to meet the WHO targets and eliminate hepatitis by 2030.
Keywords: HCV, Hepatitis, Pakistan, policy, elimination, Control
Received: 06 Dec 2024; Accepted: 23 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Asim, Hu, Qiao, Khan and Nisa. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Naeem Asim, Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Bahawalpur, Pakistan
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