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World Hepatitis Day, observed on 28 July every year, serves as a reminder of the urgent need to tackle viral hepatitis, one of the most widespread but underdiagnosed public health threats.
The disease, which inflames and gradually damages the liver, often progresses silently until it causes serious complications like liver failure or cancer.
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Despite being preventable, treatable and in some cases curable, many people only discover their status when symptoms become severe or irreversible.
This year’s theme, “Hepatitis: Let’s Break It Down,” highlights the need to dismantle the many social, financial and systemic barriers that prevent people from accessing lifesaving care.
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The World Health Organisation (WHO) is urging governments and health systems to scale up hepatitis services, including safe vaccination, diagnosis, and treatment.
Understanding Hepatitis
Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver caused by viral infection, alcohol use, toxins, or autoimmune conditions.
There are five main types: hepatitis A, B, C, D, and E. These differ in how they spread, the severity of illness they cause, and whether they become chronic.
Hepatitis A and E are usually transmitted through contaminated food or water. They are short-term illnesses that often resolve without long-term damage.
Hepatitis B, C and D are more serious and are spread through blood, sexual contact, and from mother to child during childbirth. Hepatitis B and C are responsible for most hepatitis-related deaths and can lead to long-term liver damage if untreated.
Symptoms may not appear for months or even years. When they do, they can include fatigue, nausea, abdominal pain, dark urine, loss of appetite, and yellowing of the skin or eyes. Chronic cases can lead to cirrhosis, liver failure, or liver cancer.
Nigeria’s hepatitis burden
Nigeria has one of the highest burdens of hepatitis globally. According to the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Pate, over 20 million Nigerians are living with hepatitis B or C, with 18.2 million infected with hepatitis B and 2.5 million with hepatitis C.
Mr Pate, who was represented by the Director of Public Health at the ministry, during a press briefing on Monday in commemoration of World Hepatitis Day, said hepatitis claims 4,252 Nigerian lives annually through complications like liver cancer.
The virus is often mistaken for malaria, leading many to self-medicate while the virus silently damages the liver and may progress to liver failure or cancer.
The minister also highlighted the financial toll, revealing that Nigeria loses between N13.3 trillion and N17.9 trillion each year in direct and indirect costs linked to hepatitis-related illnesses.
“Over 8.1 per cent of the Nigerian population is infected with Hepatitis B, and despite the availability of vaccination and treatment, over 90 per cent of those infected are undiagnosed and unknowingly transmit the virus to others, including children,” Mr Pate noted.
This gap in awareness and diagnosis increases the risk of transmission, including to newborns during childbirth, especially when pregnant women are not routinely screened.
Despite including the hepatitis B vaccine in its national immunisation schedule, gaps remain in delivery and coverage, particularly in rural areas where home births are common, and health infrastructure is weak.
Global progress, Nigeria’s response
Several countries have shown that eliminating hepatitis is possible. In a report by the WHO Eastern Mediterranean region to commemorate World Hepatitis Day, Egypt became the first country in the world to receive the WHO’s gold-tier status for progress towards hepatitis C elimination.
Through its 100 Million Seha initiative, more than 60 million people were screened and over four million treated free of charge.
Pakistan followed in 2024 with a national programme targeting hepatitis C. Domestic funds have been mobilised to test and treat half of those eligible by 2027.
To address the growing crisis in Nigeria, the federal government on Monday launched Project 365, a year-long screening, diagnosis, and treatment campaign.
It aims to eliminate hepatitis C and interrupt hepatitis B transmission across all constituencies by 2030. Other measures include increased budgetary support, a Viral Elimination Fund, tax incentives for local drug production, and legal reforms to expand access to care.
Speaking at the World Hepatitis Day event in Abuja, former Head of State and Nigeria’s Presidential Ambassador for Viral Hepatitis, Yakubu Gowon, urged all Nigerians to fight stigma, misinformation, and barriers to care.
Need for integration
A health expert, Amogi Endurance, said hepatitis remains underfunded and poorly integrated into Nigeria’s public health priorities.
Mr Endurance, a Senior Technical Associate at APIN Public Health Initiatives, said hepatitis services are not as well supported as other diseases like HIV, tuberculosis or malaria.
“There is low awareness about hepatitis in Nigeria, especially among young people. Many are unaware of how the virus spreads, the availability of vaccines, or the importance of early testing,” he said.
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He added that testing is not fully integrated into primary health care, antenatal clinics, or blood transfusion services in many parts of the country.
“Screening should be made free and part of routine care. Antenatal clinics should test pregnant women for hepatitis, and we must encourage regular testing among young people,” he said.
Way forward
Also at the press briefing on Monday, Adebobola Bashorun, National Coordinator of the National AIDS and STDs Control Programme, said Project 365 will deliver testing, treatment, and vaccination across all constituencies, in partnership with the National Assembly.
Mr Adebobola urged the public to adopt safe practices, such as avoiding unprotected sex and sharing needles, while encouraging regular testing.
“For those who are infected, there is a curable treatment for hepatitis C. But for Hepatitis B, there is no treatment, but there are drugs that can moderate the rapidity of the development.
“Hepatitis B infection in an individual after a full test has been done to determine whether it is an ongoing infection or a long-term chronic infection,” he added.
