Afrigather 29 July 2024 – With the theme “It’s time for motion,” South Sudan joins the worldwide group to have a good time World Hepatitis Day 2024. Today calls on all stakeholders to extend funding and improve collaboration to eradicate viral hepatitis as a public well being menace within the nation.
Hepatitis stays one of many main well being issues in South Sudan and the African area. As of 2022, 70 million folks in Africa have been contaminated with hepatitis B and C, resulting in power liver illness, liver most cancers, and vital mortality charges. New world knowledge exhibits that over 254 million persons are dwelling with power hepatitis B worldwide, with over two million new circumstances recorded yearly. Hepatitis has now turn into the world’s deadliest virus after COVID-19.
Hepatitis is an irritation of the liver brought on by varied infectious viruses and noninfectious brokers, together with alcohol and sure medication. It results in a variety of well being issues, a few of which might be deadly. Acute an infection could happen with restricted or no signs or could embody signs corresponding to jaundice (yellowing of the pores and skin and eyes), darkish urine, excessive fatigue, nausea, vomiting, and belly ache.
World Hepatitis Day, marked every year on 28 July, brings collectively stakeholders to focus on world efforts to advertise prevention, testing, and remedy. This 12 months’s commemoration occasion in Juba, led by the Ministry of Well being with help from the World Well being Group (WHO) and companions, gathered various audiences, together with senior authorities officers, healthcare professionals, civil society, the donor group, and academia.
“Whereas some progress has been made within the hepatitis response, there may be nonetheless a protracted method to go,” stated Honourable Yolanda Awel Deng, Minister of Well being. “In South Sudan, precedence interventions corresponding to testing, vaccination, and remedy stay inaccessible to the populations most severely affected or at increased threat. For instance, Hepatitis B beginning dose is but to be launched within the EPI programme in South Sudan. Lower than 2% of the inhabitants contaminated with the virus is conscious of their standing, and correspondingly, lower than 1% entry efficient remedies.”
Dr. Humphrey Karamagi, WHO Consultant for South Sudan, emphasised the necessity to leverage present prevention and remedy instruments to handle the excessive hepatitis burden. An efficient vaccine and remedy for Hepatitis B and a remedy for Hepatitis C exist. “The introduction of the Hepatitis B beginning dose can remarkably cut back new infections. Moreover, implementing blood security methods, together with quality-assured screening of all donated blood, can stop the transmission of Hepatitis B and C,” stated Dr. Karamagi.
World Hepatitis Day 2024 underscores the important want for concerted efforts and elevated funding to fight hepatitis in South Sudan and past.
