Punjab Governor Chaudhry Mohammad Sarwar said that every Pakistani should play his role in the war against hepatitis. He announced that Sarwar Foundation will launch the “Hepatitis Free Balochistan” program after Hepatitis Free Punjab. He was addressing an event in connection with World Hepatitis Day at Governor’s House, Lahore on Saturday. Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid, Wife of Governor Punjab and Chair Sarwar Foundation Begum Perveen Sarwar, Country Head WHO Dr Palitha Mahipala, Project Head Punjab Hepatitis Control Program Dr Khalid, Dr Zahid Parvaiz, Dr Jamshed were present among others. Chaudhry Sarwar said that he would like to pay tribute to all government and welfare organizations including the ‘Punjab Hepatitis Control Program’ and the Sarwar Foundation for their efforts to prevent Hepatitis in the province, adding that it is very important to spread awareness about Hepatitis prevention in our society and the provision of clean drinking water can reduce the spread of Hepatitis considerably. He said that Punjab Aab-e-Pak Authority has started working on more than 1500 projects in Punjab to provide clean drinking water to the people and by the end of this year, clean drinking water will be provided to about 8 million people of Punjab. Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmeen Rashid appreciated the efforts of Begum Perveen Sarwar and her team for Hepatitis Prevention and Control. She further said that the Government of Pakistan is providing free medicines to the ‘registered Hepatitis patients’ , adding that the main purpose of observing World Hepatitis Day is to raise awareness regarding the prevention of Hepatitis and provide treatment facilities to Hepatitis patients. Chairperson Sarwar Foundation, Begum Perveen Sarwar, said that Sarwar Foundation was the very first charitable organization of Punjab that launched the Hepatitis Free Punjab campaign and now 16 organisations are working in collaboration for this initiative. She said that Sarwar Foundation hospitals in Rajana and Chichawatni have Macro-Elimination Hepatitis Centers that are providing free screening, PCR testing and medicines to Hepatitis patients. Over 3 lac Hepatitis C patients and over 30 thousand Hepatitis B patients have been treated for free whereas 24 lac people have been screened for free to date. We are also striving to eliminate Hepatitis from Punjab through the provision of clean drinking water, adding that Sarwar Foundation is the largest provider of clean drinking water in Pakistan providing safe drinking water to over 2.2 million people on a daily basis. Country Head WHO, Dr Pali, said that the efforts of the Sarwar Foundation and the Department of Health for Hepatitis Prevention and Control in Punjab are laudable and assured that the WHO will provide full support in this regard until Hepatitis is eliminated from Punjab and Pakistan.