PESHAWAR, Jan 6: Provincial PPP's general secretary Sikandar Hayat Sherpao has call upon the federal government to prepare an emergency plan for providing vaccines to hepatitis patients because costly treatment has been adverserly affecting the socio-economic condition of the country.

According to a statement issued here on Thursday, he welcomed the federal cabinet's decision to devise a national action plan to combat hepatitis. He regretted that previous governments had been ignoring the disease, and it was good development that the federal government was giving importance to the matter.

The government, the Pakistan People's Party leader said, should prepare comprehensive health programmes to focus on preventive and curative measures of the disease. According to him, polluted drinking water and sub-standard medical devices were fast contributing to the spread of the disease.