ISLAMABAD: Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on National Health Services Dr Faisal Sultan said on Monday the government is promoting the use of auto-destruct syringes to curb blood-borne infections.
Taking to Twitter, he pointed out that many blood-borne diseases such as Hepatitis and HIV spread through the reuse of disposable syringes. “We are therefore transitioning to auto-destruct syringes,” he announced.
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Dr Faisal Sultan said the government has waived duties on the import of auto-destruct or auto-disposable syringes, including raw material required to produce these locally, to facilitate the transition process.
Many blood borne infectious, eg hepatitis & HIV spread via reuse of disposable syringes. We are therefore transitioning to auto-destruct syringes. Duties on import of auto-destruct syringes (& materials reqrd to make them locally) have been waived off to facilitate this process
— Faisal Sultan (@fslsltn) March 22, 2021
Earlier, the Ministry of National Health Services moved a summary for the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) to consider waiving duties on the import of auto-destruct syringes.
The ministry in the summary said Pakistan was facing a multitude of public health issues owing to a rapid rise in blood-borne diseases. Beside the prevalence of Hepatitis-C, Pakistan is among a few states reporting a growing AIDs epidemic in the Asian region.
