PESHAWAR, Aug 9: NWFP Health Minister Inayatullah Khan has stressed the need for shifting the focus from curative to preventive side to effectively control diseases and called for launching a simple public awareness campaign.

He was addressing a seminar arranged by Provincial AIDS Control Programme here on Wednesday.

The minister termed the spread of hepatitis alarming and said that it had become a major public health issue. He said that the government was taking measures to create awareness about the disease’s hazards.

He said that there was a need to educate media men, religious scholars, elected representatives and health workers about these problems.

Stressing the need for an effective disease prevention strategy, the health minister said: “Authorities must target public sites for sensitisation to educate more people about health issues and officials must use (easy to understand) local metaphors to help people understand.”

The seminar was also attended by elected representatives and social workers. Provincial Manager AIDS Control Programme Dr Mohammad Zafar, Dr Amir Rehman Jadoon and Nazim of the Hayatabad Union Council Mohammad Ishaq also addressed the seminar.