Today, Monday, July 28, 2025, is World Hepatitis Day, a global reminder of the growing threat viral hepatitis poses to public health, and the urgent need for stronger resolve to combat it.
This year's theme, "Let's Break It Down," aims to demystify the disease and amplify the voices of those living with it, calling for testing, treatment, vaccination and an end to stigma. Viral hepatitis, an inflammation of the liver, is a silent killer. It often progresses unnoticed until irreversible liver damage or cancer has occurred. Globally, the World Health Organisation, WHO, estimates that 304 million people are living with chronic hepatitis B and C, with about 6,000 new infections occurring daily. These are not just statistics; they are lives quietly being lost.
In Nigeria, the situation is particularly grim. Over 20 million people are estimated to be living with viral hepatitis. Yet many are unaware they are infected. This is due in part to low public awareness, inadequate access to testing and treatment, and limited government intervention. Transmission occurs through unscreened blood transfusions, unsafe medical practices, unsterile tattooing, sexual contact, and from mother to child during childbirth. While the initial symptoms may be mild, viral hepatitis can develop into chronic liver disease, cirrhosis, and liver cancer, often with fatal outcomes. Despite its prevalence, hepatitis does not receive the attention it deserves compared to diseases like HIV/AIDS or malaria. Government response has been slow and inconsistent, and the disease continues to thrive in the shadows. Yet, hepatitis B and C are preventable and treatable.
Hepatitis C is even curable. Nigeria has no excuse for allowing this health threat to spiral. We therefore call on the government to invest significantly in the National Viral Hepatitis Control Programme. Testing and vaccination should be accessible nationwide, especially in rural and underserved communities. Hepatitis should be integrated into existing primary healthcare structures and ensure mandatory screening in antenatal care, blood donation and surgical procedures. We acknowledge ongoing initiatives, such as the National Viral Hepatitis Control Programme, and the recent establishment of the Expanded Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission, PMTCT, of HIV/AIDS, Syphilis and Viral Hepatitis Technical Working Group. These are commendable steps, especially the proposal to provide free hepatitis B testing and treatment for pregnant women.
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However, insufficient funding, poor implementation and weak integration with broader health systems hamper progress. Hepatitis B spreads 100 times faster than HIV. A birth-dose vaccine within 24 hours can offer infants lifelong protection from infection and significantly lower liver cancer risks. Unfortunately, many Nigerian newborns can't benefit. If Nigeria is serious about joining the world in meeting the 2030 global target of eliminating viral hepatitis as a public health threat, it must stop paying lip service and begin taking decisive, sustained action. The time to act is now.
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