World Hepatitis Day 2023 Events Conferences • Workshops 2022 - 2023
NOGUCHIMEDRES
World Hepatitis Day (WHD), the 28th of July, is observed yearly to create awareness of viral hepatitis globally. For 2021, the theme Hep Can’t Wait! was chosen to focus on the need to strengthen efforts to eliminate hepatitis as a public health threat by 2030.
In Ghana, to commemorate WHD 2021, the EDCTP2-funded HEPMAL project collaborated with the Ghana Health Service and the Hepatitis Foundation of Ghana to organize activities to mark the day. The project team facilitated a 2-day webinar series in the days leading up to WHD with hepatitis-related subject matter specialists including researchers, hepatologists and a government health official. The speakers addressed topics that covered the burden and management of hepatitis in Ghana, the national response and Ghana’s Hepatitis Policy, as well as a look at new insights into hepatitis research.
The main event to mark WHD was a medical outreach on the 28th of July where clinicians and nurses from the University of Ghana Hospital, the University of Ghana Medical Centre and the Greater Accra Regional Hospital were in attendance to provide counselling services, education viral hepatitis and to administer the vaccines. Representatives from The Hepatitis Society of Ghana (HEPSoG), The Ghana Association for the Study of Liver and Digestive Diseases (GASLIDD) and The Hepatitis Foundation of Ghana (HFG) were also present to support at the event.
The then Director of the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, Professor Abraham Anang was also at the event, as was Okyeame Kwame, a renowned Ghanaian musician/songwriter and a Hepatitis B Ambassador and leading advocate for HBV awareness and vaccination. They both addressed the gathering during the outreach.
In all, a little over 300 individuals were screened for hepatitis B on that day. Of this number, 246 were eligible and were administered the first dose of the Hepatitis B vaccine, also provided for free. Another 19 individuals were positive for Hepatitis B surface antigen. They were counselled and referred to specialists from the University Hospital for further assessment and management.
Additionally, The HEPMAL project rounded off the WHD activities with a donation of office chairs, ward screens, stationary, cleaning and sanitary products to the Liver Unit of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, which is the main referral liver clinic and the primary site for recruitment of the HEPMAL project participants.
The free screening and vaccinations were made possible by a seed amount from the HEPMAL project, as well as generous donations towards the event by AngloGold Ashanti Ghana, Crescent Chemist Ltd., the West African Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens (WACCBIP) at the University of Ghana, and Kingdom Books and Stationery Ltd through a fundraising drive by the HEPMAL project staff.
In general, the activities of HEPMAL in organizing this WHD event has highlighted the need for many more of such programmes for a continued drive to create awareness of viral hepatitis, and to encourage as many individuals as possible to get tested and to vaccinate. This will contribute to achieving the global targets of drastically reducing new infections and deaths attributable to hepatitis within the next decade.
