Scary: 20 Million Nigerians Living With Viral Hepatitis – CFID
BY AMEH IDUJAGI, JALINGO – A Non-Governmental Organisation, the Centre For Initiative and Development (CFID) based in Jalingo, has said that about 20 million Nigerians are living with viral hepatitis.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of CFID Mr Danjuma Adda stated this in Jalingo, the Taraba State capital, at one day planning meeting for the 2021 World Hepatitis Day (WHD), adding that 1.3 million people die globally of hepatitis yearly.
Adda, who is the president elect of World Hepatitis Alliance (WHA), also said that one person die every 30 second globally due to hepatitis related illnesses.
He said that 60 million people lived with the disease in Africa, adding that its prevalence can be found between 15 to 19 per cent in Taraba.
Adda however, noted that actions on control and prevention by the government was weak, and therefore called on all stakeholders to engage in hepatitis elimination campaign.
He commended Governor Darius Ishaku of Taraba State for being the first governor to scale up hepatitis programme in Nigeria and appealed to the governor to invest more to end its prevalence in the state.
While attributing alcohol consumption, herbal medicine and concoction as factors worsening hepatitis situations in victims, Adda said that the CFID is making frantic effort with the view to tracking the campaign to the grassroots.
The CFID boss identified mismanagement of the virus by hospitals as another factor that delayed mitigation of the virus in people living with it.
He said; “Awareness must cut across population and health care workers on how to control the hepatitis prevalence.
“We need to fight stigma attached to the disease. Every 30 seconds, people die of hepatitis related illness globally. 1.3 million people die of hepatitis globally yearly, while 60 million people are living with it in Africa and 20 million people in Nigeria.
“It’s an orphan disease that kills more than AIDs and malaria, though it’s curable but highly unaffordable,” Adda said.
The World Hepatitis Day is scheduled to be hold worldwide on June 28, 2021 with the theme; “Hepatitis can’t wait”.
