Hepatitis worse than COVID-19 - Ex-WHA president

The past President of the World Hepatitis Alliance (WHA), Dr. Danjuma Adda, has identified hepatitis as a leading cause of death after Covid-19.

Quoting the World Health Organization (WHO), Adda who doubles as the Executive Director of the Centre for Initiative and Development, (CFID) stated this on Friday at a town hall meeting in commemoration of World Hepatitis Day which took place in Jalingo, the capital of Taraba state.

Stressing that hepatitis is now the second leading cause of death worldwide, Adda stated that the alarming revelation now underscores the urgent need for increased awareness, prevention, and treatment efforts to combat the crisis in Taraba and the country at large.

Expressing concern over the substandard equipment used in blood transfusions in Nigeria, he expressed sad that many testing kits are ineffective in detecting the virus due to their low quality.

He underscored the urgent need for increased awareness, prevention, as well as treatment efforts to combat the hepatitis crisis in Taraba and the country as a whole.

Adda, who called for a collective effort to improve hepatitis testing and treatment, urged governments at all levels to invest in high-quality test kits and also called on religious and traditional leaders to ensure that equipment used in children’s circumcision are properly sterilized.

He lamented the high mortality rate due to viral hepatitis in Nigeria, which he estimated at 20 million Nigerians living with the disease and 1.3 million dying annually.

He criticized the lack of attention given to hepatitis compared to HIV, stating that “hepatitis patients often have to pay for treatment, diagnosis, and cures.”

Also, the Executive Secretary of the State Primary Health Care Development Agency, (TSPHCDA), Dr. Tukura Nyigwa, who spoke through the agency’s Head of Medical Laboratory Service of the agency, Gemson Linus, said the agency, have been actively engaged in supportive supervision to monitor and enhance the quality of hepatitis-related services across the state’s health facilities.

He affirmed that the agency has contributed to improved health outcomes and a more robust health system capable of addressing the hepatitis epidemic.

“Our agency has been instrumental in providing critical interventions, such as vaccines and immunization, to protect communities from the disease. We are committed to ensuring equitable access to these essential services, especially for the most vulnerable populations.”

Already, the leadership of the Christian Association of Nigeria Youth Wing chairman, the leadership of both CAN and Muslim Council of Nigeria, (MCN), Women Wing of the Christian Association of Nigeria (WOWICAN), Federation of Muslim Women’s Association of Nigeria, (FOMWAN), among others, vowed to join forces with of CFID to create awareness on hepatitis testing in Taraba.

A lawyer living with hepatitis B, Gloria Sotennge, called on governments at all levels to deliver on their responsibilities to the citizens by investing more in testing and diagnosis for hepatitis B and C.