Political will an incentive to fight hepatitis
The first step is to get tested for Hepatitis so that if you are found to be positive medical assistance and treatment is given early to avoid complications. PHOTO | COURTESY
What you need to know:
- As extracted form a report on hepatitis in Uganda, the basic constraints holding back a successful fight against the disease are mainly rooted in financial constraints.
Following a roadmap that the World Health Organization (WHO) provided for the elimination of viral hepatitis B and C as a public health problem by 2030, political will has been sited out as one of the basic incentive to recognize viral hepatitis as a health priority.
This was during a media round table hosted by Abbott, a global healthcare leader, to discuss the prevalence and impact of hepatitis B (HBV) and hepatitis C (HCV) in sub-Saharan Africa on April 22, 2022 virtually.
According to Professor Wendy Spearman, Head of the Division of Hepatology at the University of Cape Town, Groote Schuur Hospital, “political will sets national elimination targets with dedicated funding to implement national viral hepatitis action plans.”
“Importantly, there must be universal access to affordable diagnostics and therapeutics,” Prof Spearman said.
As extracted form a report on hepatitis in Uganda, the basic constraints holding back a successful fight against the disease are mainly rooted in financial constraints.
Kenneth Kabagambe, the executive director National Organisation for People Living with Hepatitis B attributed delayed diagnosis to financial issues.
“Because of that, most of Hepatitis patients are going to hospitals when they are at the end stage of the disease,” Mr Kabagambe noted.
Additionally, the Medical Director for Abbott’s rapid diagnostic business in Africa, Dr Kuku Appiah observed that early screening and adequate treatment are paramount for better health outcomes for patients.
According to Rachael Beyagira, hepatitis focal officer Ministry of Health, Uganda is now using the Hub network to collect samples from different districts to the central districts to ascertain the viral load of HBV.
Uganda has a prevalence of hepatitis B and C that is difficult to track due to lack of insights and data needed to create a strategic framework to inform policy.
“We have not had a nationwide survey on HCV but relying on data coming in from the blood bank and we have a prevalence of about 2-3%,” Beyagira said.
These sparse data sets especially for HCV, which accounts for 1-2% of the population, increase the difficulty of identifying the disease.
For HBV, the data is better due to diagnosis through an HIV impact assessment which went live in 2016. As a result, the prevalence of the HBV was at 4.3% of the total population, in people aged 15 and 49 years, according to government data.
