The Ghana Health Service (GHS) has announced that the country of Ghana would launch a birth dose vaccine for hepatitis B in 2024 to protect infants and stop the spread of the disease.

The population would be adequately immunized, the procedures and structures would be in place, and the population would be prepared, according to Dr. Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, Director-General GHS.

“These initiatives have been scheduled areas so there needs to be adequate vaccines, we must gather our citizens, we require to make the procedures and requisite places to distribute them, so this is what we are currently concentrating on and we believe that we will be successful to do that within the coming year exactly as other countries are doing,” This was said by Dr. Kuma-Aboagye during the press conference for the “One Liver, One Life”-themed press launch of World Hepatitis Day in 2023.

Every year on July 28, the Day is observed to draw attention to the urgency of accelerating the fight against the spread of viral liver infection and to spur meaningful change.

Hepatitis is a viral infection that typically affects the liver and causes inflammation.

Hepatitis A, B, C, D, and E are the five primary viral subtypes, and each kind of viral hepatitis is caused by a unique virus.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), viral hepatitis is thought to be the cause of 3,000 deaths each day due to liver disease, with nearly 90% of those affected being completely unaware of their condition.

By 2040, viral hepatitis will cause the deaths of more people globally each year than HIV/AIDS, TB, and malaria combined, according to the Director-General.

He claimed that the global and local rates of hepatitis evaluation and therapy in Ghana remained incredibly low.

Only 10% of those who have severe hepatitis B (HBV) are found to have it and only 22% of those who are treated. Only 21% of persons who have the illness are given a diagnosis for hepatitis C, and 62% of those who are are given treatment.

Hepatitis education in Ghana is still poor, according to Dr. Kuma-Aboagye, who urged people to get tested right away to find out their status and start treatment as soon as possible.

Other initiatives to start up include increasing the prenatal service package to contain HBV testing for pregnant women and implementing the three-stage elimination of Hepatitis ‘B’, HIV, and Syphilis in 2024.

“I urge the media to educate the public on knowing their hepatitis status, seeking treatment, and beginning lifestyle changes like cutting back on alcohol use, losing excess weight, managing hypertension, and managing diabetes,” he continued.

Speaking on the viral hepatitis situation in Ghana, Dr. Atsu Godwin Seake-Kwawu, Programme Manager, National Viral Hepatitis Control Program, GHS, stressed the importance of increasing interventions to combat the hepatitis virus.

According to him, Ghana had 12.3% of the world’s chronic hepatitis B cases in 2015, 1.5 million new cases, 820,000 fatalities, and six million people receiving treatment.

There were also 1.5 million new infections, 299,000 deaths, and 9.4 million people receiving treatment for chronic hepatitis C in 2019.

According to a serosurvey conducted in 2022, the burden of hepatitis “B” in pregnancy was predominate in the Northern region and was 17.5% in the Northeast.

Because the expense of medication for treatment is high, according to Dr. Seake-Kwaku, it is crucial to boost prevention, testing, and links to recovery, treatment, and chronic care.

The government was urged to take action to reduce the expense of treating hepatitis in the nation by Mr. Theobald Owusu-Ansah, an activist of the Hepatitis Coalition of Ghana.

While praising the initiative to provide the birth dosage vaccine, he claimed that in order for those with the illness to receive the necessary treatment, the government needs to step in.

Health screening activities and education would be held throughout the areas to honor World Hepatitis Day.

Source: GNA