World Hepatitis Day: WHO calls for uninterrupted Hepatitis testing, vaccination

Islamabad: The World Health Organisation (WHO) Tuesday reiterated its commitment to achieve the dream of a Hepatitis-free future by expanding access to testing and treatment, especially for people who may be underserved, such as prison inmates or people who use drugs, and by ensuring uninterrupted Hepatitis B vaccination alongside scaling up of Hepatitis B and C testing and treatment services.

In a message released on the occasion of World Hepatitis Day, WHO Representative in Pakistan Dr. Palitha Mahipala assured the government of Pakistan in implementing its plans to eliminate Hepatitis B and C epidemics in the country.

“Our joint commitment and efforts would contribute to reaching the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

This is a long road ahead, but today we can take a small step with one commitment that will take us closer to a Hepatitis-free future. We take this opportunity to assure the commitment of WHO to work hand-in-hand with national and the provincial programmes to further strengthen the national response, provide the support needed to maintain Hepatitis core interventions, to integrate service delivery arrangements, to reach universal health coverage and eliminate Hepatitis,” Dr. Palitha has stated in the message.

Pakistan is facing numerous challenges in its Hepatitis response. It has the highest prevalence of Hepatitis C (5%) globally and has the second highest number of people suffering from HCV, after China.

An estimated 8 million people are living with Hepatitis C—more than 10% of the world’s total, and another 4 million are estimated to be infected with Hepatitis B; approximately 150,000 new cases are reported each year.

The country situation is further manifested with extremely low birth dose coverage and minimal, testing especially for Hepatitis B, which is important for early diagnosis of individuals who are already chronically infected with HBV.

“It is time to raise our commitment and work towards the Hepatitis targets, as set out in the Global Health Sector Strategy on Viral Hepatitis goal of eliminating viral hepatitis by 2030. World Hepatitis Day 2020 is an opportunity to deliver to our population a promise of a Hepatitis-free future,” Dr. Palitha has stated.

Globally, 325 million people are living with chronic Hepatitis B and C. They affect 21 million and 15 million people respectively in the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region, and are root causes of liver scarring (cirrhosis) and liver cancer.

These conditions lead to mortality, which can be prevented by timely testing and treatment and, in the case of hepatitis B, vaccination.