By Abiemwense Moru

For millions of Nigerians, viral hepatitis remains a silent health threat, progressing unnoticed for years without obvious symptoms.

It often manifests as severe liver disease, cirrhosis or cancer, by which time treatment may be limited, more complex and costly.

As the world marked the 2026 World Hepatitis Day recently, health experts renewed calls for increased awareness, wider screening and improved access to treatment to reduce infections and prevent avoidable deaths.

The global theme, “Hepatitis: Let’s Break It Down,” underscores the need to remove barriers to information, testing, vaccination and treatment while ensuring equitable access to quality healthcare.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), viral hepatitis causes about 1.3 million deaths annually, mainly from liver cirrhosis and liver cancer.

Hundreds of millions of people live with chronic hepatitis B and C globally, many unaware of their infection because symptoms often appear only after significant liver damage.

Nigeria bears one of Africa’s highest hepatitis burdens, with more than 20 million people estimated to be living with hepatitis B and C.

Many remain undiagnosed, fuelling continued transmission within communities.

Health experts therefore advocate greater awareness, wider screening and timely treatment to reduce infections and prevent complications.

Consultant Gastroenterologist and Hepatologist, Dr Adaeze Oreh, says hepatitis B and C remain major public health challenges because many infected Nigerians are unaware of their status until extensive liver damage occurs.

She says widespread misconceptions, including beliefs that hepatitis results from spiritual attacks or witchcraft, discourage testing in spite of the availability of effective prevention and treatment.

According to Oreh, delayed diagnosis allows infections to progress silently and increases transmission within families, communities and healthcare settings.

She says simple blood tests can detect hepatitis early, enabling treatment that prevents liver failure, cirrhosis and liver cancer.

Oreh also advocates routine screening and administering hepatitis B vaccines within 24 hours of birth to prevent mother-to-child transmission, noting that many infections are detected only during routine medical examinations.

For Grace James, a hepatitis B diagnosis during antenatal screening initially brought fear and uncertainty.

However, counselling and regular medical follow-up reassured her that proper care could protect both mother and child.

She says adherence to medical advice and strong family support have enabled her to remain healthy.

James believes her experience demonstrates how early diagnosis and accurate information can transform fear into confidence while reducing the risk of complications and transmission.

Similarly, Musa Abdullahi discovered his hepatitis status during a routine medical examination conducted for employment.

Although he had no symptoms, doctors placed him on regular monitoring and advised him on healthy lifestyle practices to protect his liver.

Today, Abdullahi says he continues to live and work normally, urging Nigerians to embrace screening because knowing one’s status is the first step towards prevention and treatment.

While personal experiences illustrate hepatitis’ human impact, state governments are expanding interventions to improve early detection, vaccination and awareness.

In Adamawa, authorities say more than 240,000 residents have been screened under an ongoing campaign targeting about 300,000 people in Yola South Local Government Area.

The Commissioner for Health and Human Services, Mr Muhammed Jada, says many infected persons remain unaware of their status until serious complications develop.

He says awareness, testing, vaccination and timely treatment are essential to reducing hepatitis-related deaths while urging stronger efforts to combat stigma that discourages people from seeking care.

The state has also strengthened routine childhood immunisation, blood safety measures, infection prevention and public awareness campaigns.

Executive Chairman of the Adamawa Health Management Service Board, Dr Aiden Amzaranda, says the state’s hepatitis burden is worrying, citing findings from Garkida General Hospital where about 120 of 400 people screened tested positive.

In Plateau, the Commissioner for Health, Dr Nicholas Ba’amlong, reports hepatitis B and C prevalence rates of 13.9 per cent and 6.8 per cent respectively, while studies among pregnant women indicate a prevalence of 9.2 per cent.

Data from the hepatology unit of Jos University Teaching Hospital also point to increasing numbers of chronic hepatitis B and liver cancer patients, underscoring the need for wider screening and vaccination.

Consultant Gastroenterologist and Hepatologist, Prof. Duguru John, says hepatitis is commonly transmitted through unscreened blood transfusions, unprotected sex, mother-to-child transmission and the sharing of unsterilised sharp objects.

He urges Nigerians to receive vaccinations, insist on properly screened blood and practise safe infection-prevention measures.

Medical Director of Mercy Way Medical Centre, Dr Patrick Omogbohun, says viral hepatitis accounts for about 80 per cent of liver cancer deaths globally.

According to him, more than 800,000 people develop liver cancer annually while over 700,000 die from the disease, highlighting the need for stronger prevention, screening and treatment programmes.

Although millions remain unaware of their infection, he notes that effective vaccines, diagnostic tools and treatments are available and should be made more accessible.

Lagos State has also intensified free screening, vaccination and awareness campaigns across communities, including Ikorodu, Isolo and Ajeromi.

The initiative provides hepatitis screening, counselling, vaccination and referral services, while public awareness campaigns use radio, television, social media and community outreach to educate residents.

State AIDS Programme Coordinator, Dr Oladipupo Fisher, identifies poor awareness as a major obstacle to hepatitis prevention.

The state has trained 28 health facilities to provide hepatitis services and vaccinated thousands of healthcare workers, with development partners supporting the effort through donations of vaccines, testing kits and outreach activities.

Beyond state interventions, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention says Africa has the knowledge and tools needed to eliminate viral hepatitis if governments sustain investment and collaboration.

The agency advocates expanded testing and treatment, timely birth-dose vaccination, stronger laboratory systems and increased domestic financing.

Globally, WHO aims to reduce new hepatitis infections by 90 per cent and hepatitis-related deaths by 65 per cent by 2030, but warns that millions remain undiagnosed and untreated, especially in low-resource settings.

For Nigeria, the message from this year’s World Hepatitis Day is clear; awareness, routine screening, vaccination and timely treatment must become integral to healthcare delivery.

Although viral hepatitis remains a major public health challenge, experts say it is largely preventable, detectable and, in many cases, treatable.

They urge sustained investment in prevention, improved access to care and stronger public awareness to reduce infections and prevent avoidable deaths.

Such efforts, they say, will help Nigeria achieve the global goal of eliminating viral hepatitis as a public health threat by 2030. (NAN)

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned that years of progress in tackling HIV, viral hepatitis and Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) are at risk of stalling.

The global health agency raised an alarm that millions of people are being left without access to life-saving prevention, testing and treatment.

Tuesday marks World Hepatitis Day, the birthday of the Nobel-prize winning scientist who discovered the hepatitis B virus.

A new report by WHO found that while countries have made significant advances over the past decade, funding shortfalls, humanitarian crises and persistent inequalities are widening gaps in care for those most at risk.

“This report tells two stories. It demonstrates what is possible when countries invest in health, communities and science.

“But it also shows how quickly progress can be undone with funding disruptions, humanitarian emergencies and persistent inequalities,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.

WHO said by the end of 2025, an estimated 32 million people living with HIV were receiving treatment worldwide.

The UN health agency added that since 2010, new HIV infections have fallen by 42 per cent and AIDS-related deaths by 57 per cent.

WHO estimated that around nine million people still lack access to life-saving HIV medicines.

It added that infections continue to rise in several regions, particularly among populations facing stigma and discrimination, including sex workers, people who inject drugs, transgender people and people in prisons.

The picture is similarly mixed for viral hepatitis, with annual hepatitis ‘B’ infections declining by nearly one-third since 2015, and deaths linked to hepatitis ‘C’ have fallen.

In spite of the gains, viral hepatitis remains one of the world’s deadliest infectious diseases, claiming an estimated 1.3 million lives in 2024.

Meanwhile, progress against sexually transmitted infections has slowed.

WHO warned that reductions in international donor funding disrupted HIV prevention programmes in several countries during 2025.

The reduced funding affect access to pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), a medicine that significantly reduces the risk of acquiring HIV, according to WHO.

The agency also highlighted continuing barriers to diagnosing and treating hepatitis ‘B’, in spite of the availability of highly effective medicines capable of preventing millions of deaths.

WHO said integrating HIV, hepatitis and STI services into primary health care is one of the fastest ways to expand access while building more resilient health systems.

The report also highlights innovations such as long-acting HIV prevention medicines, improved diagnostic tools and stronger digital health systems as key opportunities to accelerate progress.

Among the most promising advances is the WHO-recommended, twice-yearly injectable lenacapavir, which is now being introduced in 10 countries, with rollout planned in a further 14.

Lenacapavir is a highly effective HIV prevention tool administered as an injection just twice a year with the potential to transform the HIV response by preventing new infections, particularly among populations at greatest risk.

WHO also stressed the importance of strengthening community leadership, ensuring that people most affected by HIV, hepatitis and STIs help shape health programmes and monitor whether services are reaching those who need them most.

“Over the next five years, we must build integrated, resilient health systems that reach those furthest behind,” Tedros said.

By Obi Light Ogbonnia

“Can an SS father and an AA mother give birth to a child with sickle cell disease?”

That was the question a curious student asked during one of our recent school awareness campaigns.

It is the kind of question every Nigerian should know the answer to because it lies at the heart of preventing sickle cell disease.

The answer is simple: No.

Science teaches us that an individual with genotype SS carries two sickle haemoglobin genes and can only pass the S gene to each child.

Likewise, an individual with genotype AA carries two normal haemoglobin genes and can only pass the A gene. Every child from such a union will inherit the AS genotype, making them carriers of the sickle cell trait but not sufferers of sickle cell disease.

If this scientific principle is so clear, why do we occasionally hear heartbreaking stories of couples who insist they were told they were SS and AA, yet they gave birth to a child with SS?

In most cases, the explanation is not a failure of genetics but a failure of our healthcare system. Wrong genotype results remain a silent public health crisis. Poor laboratory practices, expired or counterfeit reagents, poorly calibrated equipment, sample mix-ups, inadequate quality control, and, in some instances, corruption and the falsification of laboratory reports have combined to create a dangerous environment where life-changing decisions are made using unreliable medical information.

The consequences are profound. Young people proceed into marriage believing they are genetically compatible, only to discover years later that both are carriers of the sickle cell gene. Families are thrown into emotional distress. Trust is broken. Parents struggle with the lifelong financial and psychological burden of caring for children living with sickle cell disease. What should have been prevented becomes another painful statistic.

To be clear, medicine recognizes a few exceptionally rare situations, such as unusual haemoglobin variants or the need for advanced molecular testing, where routine tests may require confirmation.

However, these rare exceptions do not alter the established law of inheritance: SS × AA produces AS offspring.

Nigeria accounts for one of the largest numbers of babies born with sickle cell disease every year. We cannot win this battle if the very tests designed to prevent the disease cannot be trusted. Every inaccurate genotype result represents a potential family tragedy waiting to unfold.

The Federal Ministry of Health, regulatory agencies, and professional bodies must intensify oversight of diagnostic laboratories, eliminate counterfeit laboratory reagents, enforce external quality assurance programmes, and sanction facilities and individuals found guilty of malpractice. Laboratory diagnosis must become a matter of public trust, not public doubt.

Equally, Nigerians should avoid relying on a single genotype test, especially when the result will influence marriage or childbearing decisions. Confirmatory testing in accredited laboratories should become the standard practice.

The fight against sickle cell disease does not begin in the hospital ward; it begins in the laboratory. When corruption enters the laboratory, science is compromised, prevention fails, and innocent children bear the consequences. Protecting the integrity of genotype testing is not merely a professional obligation, it is a moral responsibility and a national priority.

If we truly desire a Nigeria with fewer children born with sickle cell disease, then we must first ensure that every genotype result tells the truth.

About the Author

Obi Light Ogbonnia is the Founder and President of the Obi Ogbonnia Sickle Cell Foundation (OOSCF), a sickle cell survivor, public health advocate, and international speaker. He has dedicated his life to promoting genotype awareness, patient support, policy advocacy, and equitable access to quality healthcare. Through education and community engagement, he continues to champion efforts aimed at reducing the burden of sickle cell disease in Nigeria and across Africa. His guiding message remains: “It’s Sickle Cell, Not Sickle Life.”