VERY July 28th, World Hepatitis Day calls on communities worldwide to confront one of the most under-diagnosed diseases affecting public health today.
According to a 2024 World Health Organisation report, Pakistan had an estimated 9 million people living with hepatitis C, making it the largest single contributor to the global hepatitis C burden, with Sindh province alone recording a prevalence rate of 6.2 per cent.
Hepatitis B and C often go undetected for years, silently damaging the liver until symptoms becomesevere, and in many low-resource settings,thebarrierstotestingand treatment mean the disease is caught far too late.
SHINE Humanity’s Hepatitis C Treatment Programme is answering that call with results that speak for themselves. Running out of clinics in Gharo (since 2021), Kohi Goth, Chiliya, Sujjawal, and Moro District, the programme has screened 29,751 individuals since inception through June 2026. Of those screened, 1,023 tested reactive and 716 were confirmed PCRpositive and, remarkably, 691 patients were registered for care, with 664 achieving a full cure, a96pc success rate.
This programme is one piece of a much larger commitment to community health in the country’s most underserved regions.
Foundedin2009,SHINEHumanity is a non-profit organisation provid-ing compassionate and sustainable primary and preventative healthcare to rural communities across Pakistan, where nearly 60pc of the population lives with limited access to quality medical services.
Its services span far beyond hepatitis, including diabetes and hypertension management, family planning, malnutrition treatment, health awareness through Sehat Agahi, and community-based initiatives under Sehat Ki Sangat, all delivered through a growing footprint of brick-and-mortar clinics, mobile urgent care units, satellite clinics, and a dental care unit.
To date, SHINE Humanity has impacted over 1.9 million lives, reaching more than 500,000 rural beneficiaries with clean drinking water, conducting over 45,574 medicalscreenings,trainingover8,000 medical professionals, and distributing over 429,000 food packages, a scale of impact made possible through its own digitised Electronic Medical Record system, which ensures accurate, transparent, and data-driven care across every clinic.
As the world marks World Hepatitis Day, SHINE Humanity’smessage is clear: hepatitis is preventable, treatable, and with the right care in the right hands, it is curable. Behind every number is a family that no longer has to choosebetween their health and their livelihood. To support this mission or learn more, visit shinehumanity.org.