The Federal Government has raised alarm over the devastating impact of hepatitis in Nigeria, revealing that the country loses between ₦13.3 trillion and ₦17.9 trillion annually due to the disease. It also disclosed that hepatitis-related liver cancer claims at least 4,252 Nigerian lives every year.
This was made known during a press briefing in Abuja to mark World Hepatitis Day, by the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Pate, who was represented by the Director of Public Health, Dr. Godwin Ntadom.
Pate described hepatitis as a “silent epidemic,” noting that Nigeria currently has the third-highest burden of hepatitis globally, with more than 20 million people infected.
He unveiled Project 365, a national initiative designed to eliminate Hepatitis C and halt the transmission of Hepatitis B by 2030. The project will drive constituency-level screening, diagnosis, and treatment, alongside budgetary increases, the creation of a Viral Elimination Fund, and regulatory support to promote local pharmaceutical production.
“The socioeconomic cost of this epidemic is staggering,” Pate said. “Despite the availability of vaccination and treatment, over 90 percent of those infected are undiagnosed and unknowingly transmit the virus to others, including children.”
He stressed that symptoms such as fever, fatigue, and malaise are often mistaken for malaria, leading to delays in proper diagnosis and treatment. In many cases, untreated hepatitis progresses silently to liver failure or cancer.
Also speaking, the National Coordinator of the National AIDS and STDs Control Programme, Dr. Adebobola Bashorun, highlighted that Project 365 would prioritise testing, treatment, and vaccination in all communities. He emphasized the need for community mobilization, media campaigns, and public education to raise awareness and drive prevention.
He advised Nigerians to embrace preventive practices such as abstinence, fidelity, and condom use, noting that hepatitis B and C are primarily
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