The Regional Director for Africa, World Health Organisation, Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, has said that more than 200,000 people die each year in Nigeria and other parts of Africa due to hepatitis complications such as end-stage liver cirrhosis and liver cancer.
He called on Nigerian government and its African counterparts to invest in efforts to eradicate the disease by 2030.
In a message read on behalf of Moeti in Abuja by WHO officer in charge of Nigeria, Dr. Clement Peter, on the 2019 World Hepatitis Day commemoration, the WHO leader in Africa warned that despite the availability of diagnostic tools and effective treatment, less than one in 10 of the 71 million people with hepatitis B or C in Africa had access to testing.
According to her, the World Health Organization in June developed the first hepatitis scorecard to track progress across the African region, stressing that the scorecard showed that testing and treatment as a public health approach remained the most neglected aspect of the response.
She said, “The theme this year is, ‘Invest in eliminating hepatitis.’ It is a timely reminder that this disease can be eliminated by 2030 with adequate resources and strong political commitment.
