News
WHD: ‘19m People Suffer From Hepatitis In Nigeria’
As the world marks the 2020 World Hepatitis Day (WHD), the Rivers State Government says an estimated 19 million Nigerians are infected by the disease.
Making this known, yesterday in a radio broadcast in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State Commissioner for Health, Prof Princewill Chike, said the figure was in accordance with the National HIV/AIDS Indicator and Impact Survey (NAIIS) 2018.
According to Chike, “Nigeria bears a huge burden of viral hepatitis with a prevalence of 8.1% for Hepatitis B, and 1.1% for Hepatitis C, translating to an estimated 19million people for Hepatitis B and C, including co-infections of both”.
Noting that both hepatitis B and C are preventable, the commissioner stated that hepatitis B vaccine provides life-long immunity, adding that the vaccine was available in both public and private health facilities in the state.
“While hepatitis B is treatable, there is a cure for hepatitis C”, he said.
Chike, therefore, urged Rivers people to get tested in order to determine their status, saying that “early testing means early and timely treatment can be commenced to prevent complication and save lives”.
He stated further that the Rivers State Government has designated the Rivers State Teaching Hospital as the epicentre for the testing and treatment for hepatitis.
The commissioner further explained that, “the technical working group is also meeting to ramp up efforts towards the elimination of viral hepatitis”.
The state health boss also urged Rivers people to be proactive in the prevention of hepatitis in the state by raising awareness and support in prevention, testing and treatment services.
The WHD is marked yearly on July 28 to raise awareness on the global burden of viral hepatitis towards enhancing its elimination.
Similarly, the Bayelsa State Government, yesterday, marked the year 2020 edition of the World Hepatitis Day with a charge on residents of the state to be vigilant, and support the government’s efforts to eliminate the disease in the state.
Addressing newsmen at a press conference held as part of enlightenment campaign on the dangers of the viral disease in Yenagoa, the state capital, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, Dr Inodu Apoku, stressed the need for medical checkups by intending couples and partners to ascertain their hepatitis status before and after marriage to avoid transmission to children during delivery.
Apoku lauded the state Governor, Senator Douye Diri, on his support and timely intervention on issues concerning the health and wellbeing of Bayelsans since his assumption of office.
He said that though not much attention has been given to hepatitis by the people, but added that available medical statistics show that about 1.4 million lives were lost to the disease annually.
The permanent secretary, who also doubles as the deputy chairman of the state’s Covid-19 Task Force, hinted that there were five types of the disease, including Hepatitis A, B, C, D and E.
He regretted that of all, Hepatitis B and C were deadliest, affecting over 350 million people globally.
He reiterated government’s commitment towards ensuring that Bayelsans were enlightened continuously on the importance of periodic medical checks, emphasising that Hepatitis B and C were 10 times more prevalent and dangerous than HIV/AIDS.
According to Apoku, Nigeria has one of the highest burden of viral Hepatitis in the world with 11 per cent prevalence of Hepatitis B and 22 per cent prevalence of Hepatitis C, hence the need for the creation of awareness on the disease.
“Nine in every 10 persons infected with viral hepatitis are not aware of their status, and so, the World Hepatitis Day celebration creates an opportunity to educate the general population about the burden of these infections with the aim of enlightening people on how to combat viral hepatitis and empower them to take action to prevent these infections”, he said.
“The World Hepatitis Day is commemorated globally on the 28th day of July each year to create awareness on viral hepatitis and to recommit as well as mobilize the global community on the path of elimination of viral hepatitis by the year 2030”, he added.
“The World Health Organisation (WHO) has tagged this year’s activities: Hepatitis Free Future (Hepfreefuture) with a strong focus on preventing Hepatitis B (HBV), among mothers, and new born through safe and effective vaccination”, Apoku said.
The theme for this year is: “Find The Missing Millions”.
Meanwhile, as Nigeria joined the rest of the world to commemorate the World Hepatitis Day, yesterday, Federal Government said it’s working on modalities that would reduce chronic hepatitis B virus infection to less than 2 percent in children below five years.
The government also disclosed that it has made significant progress in the area of Hepatitis B birth dose vaccination through domestic contribution to financing vaccination and expand access to services.
The Minister of health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, in a statement, yesterday, to mark the 2020 World Hepatitis Day, said the government has launched the roadmap to set up a state viral hepatitis programme, that would, expectedly, facilitate the realization of the dream.
He said that the essence of the global commemorative day was to raise awareness about the hepatitis, and also stress the need for the people to be cautious to avoid getting infected with the deadly disease.
Ehanire confirmed that Nigeria is endemic for both viral Hepatitis B and C, recalling that, in 2018, Nigeria conducted a National AIDS Indicator and Impact Survey (NAIIS), which indicated a prevalence of 8.1 per cent for Hepatitis B (HBV) and 1.1 percent for Hepatitis C (HCV).
The minister added that the NAIIS survey estimated that about 20 million people are chronically infected, and larger percentage of them are unaware of their status because they have not tested.
Ehanire said that Nigeria recognizes the importance of vaccination as a critical intervention to eliminate HBV infection by 2030, hence the nation was one of the first African countries to introduce a birth dose of HBV vaccine in 2004.
The minister added: “Furthermore, we established the National Viral Hepatitis Control programme in 2013, to coordinate all national efforts and through this, developed national documents, including policies, a strategic plan, guidelines, training materials and a treatment centre directory, which are in use.”
Sogbeba Dokubo & Ariwera Ibibo-Howells, Yenagoa
Rivers State Head of Service, Dr (Mrs) Inyingi Brown, has called on rural communities in the State to embrace the Rural Access and Agricultural marketing project (RAAMP) with a view to improving their living conditions.
This follows the ongoing sensitization campaign by the State Project Implementation Unit (SPIU) visits to Degema, Abonnema, Afam headquarters of Degema, Akuku Toru and Oyigbo Etche and Omuma local government areas respectively.
Dr Brown who was represented by the Deputy Director, Special Duties in her office, Mrs Dein Akpanah, said RAAMP was initiated by the Federal Government and World Bank to economically empower rural dwellers.s
She said the World Bank understands the plights of rural farmers and traders in the State, and therefore came up with the programme to address them.
According to her, RAAMP will improve the conditions of farmers, traders and fishermen, and therefore, behoves on every rural communities in the State to embrace the programme.
The Head of Service also said the programme would support the youths to be gainfully employed while bridges and roads will be built to link farms and fishing settlements.
Also speaking, the State project coordinator, Mr Joshua Kpakol, said the programme has the potential of creating millionaires among farmers and fishermen in the State.
Kpakol who was represented by Engr. Sam Tombari, said RAAMP would help farmers and fishermen to preserve their produce.
According to him, the project will build cold rooms and Silos for preservation of crops and fishes while access roads will also be created to link farmers and fishermen to the market.
He, however, warned them against any act that will lead to the suspension of the projects by the World Bank.
Kpakol particularly warned against acts such as kidnapping, marching ground, gender based violence and child labour, adding that such acts if they occur may lead to the cancellation of the project by the World Bank.
During the visit to Oyigbo local government area, Mr Joshua Kpakol, said the team was there to let them know how they will benefit from the Raamp.
The coordinator who was personally at Oyigbo said the World Bank introduced the project to check food insecurity in the State.
He said already 19 states in Nigeria are already benefitting from the project and called on them to embrace the project.
Meanwhile, stakeholders in the three local government areas have commended the World Bank for including their areas in the project.
They, however, complained over the incessant attacks by pirates on their waterways.
At Degema, King Agolia of Ke kingdom said land was a major problem in the kingdom.
King Agolia represented by High Chief Alpheus Damiebi said many indigenes of the kingdom are willing to go into farming but are handicapped by lack of land.
Also at Degema, the representative of the Omu Onyam Ekeim of Usokun Degema kingdom, Osoabo Isaac, said Degema has embraced the programme but needed more information on the implementation of the programme.
Similarly, while High Chief Precious Abadi advised that the project should not be narrowed to only crop farming, a community women leader, Mrs Orikinge Eremabo Otto, called for the construction of cold rooms in all fishing settlements in the area.
At Abonnema, Mr Diamond Kio linked the problem of the area to incessant piracy along waterways.
He also expressed fears over the possibility of the project being hijacked by politicians.
Also at Abonnema, a stakeholder, Ikiriko Kelvin, called on the World Bank to design an agricultural project that will suit the riverine environment, while at Oyigbo, HRH Eze Boniface Akawo expressed satisfaction with the project.
John Bibor
The political mudslinging between the Senate leadership and Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan continued yesterday as the Senate named Senator Aniekan Bassey as the new Chairman of the Committee on Diaspora and Non-Governmental Organisations.
Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, announced the appointment during yesterday’s plenary, confirming Bassey’s replacement of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, who is currently on suspension.
Akpoti-Uduaghan was reassigned to the Diaspora and NGOs Committee in February after she was removed as Chair of the Senate Committee on Local Content during a minor reshuffle.
Bassey is the senator representing Akwa Ibom North-East Senatorial District.
Although no reason was given for her removal yesterday, the change is believed to be connected to her unresolved suspension.
In May, Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court ordered her reinstatement and directed her to tender an apology to the Senate.
However, the Senate has insisted it has not received a certified true copy of the court judgment.
Akpoti-Uduaghan who represents Kogi Central, has yet to resume her legislative duties despite a recent court ruling that voided her suspension.
In a televised interview on Tuesday, Akpoti-Uduaghan said she was awaiting the Certified True Copy of the judgment before officially returning to plenary, citing legal advice and respect for institutional process.
Although the Federal High Court described her suspension as “excessive and unconstitutional”, a legal opinion dated July 5 and attributed to the Senate’s counsel, Paul Daudu (SAN), argued that the ruling lacked any binding directive to enforce her reinstatement.
Akpoti-Uduaghan, one of only three female senators in the current assembly, said the continued delay in allowing her return was not only a denial of her mandate but also a blow to democratic representation.
“By keeping me out of the chambers, the Senate is not just silencing Kogi Central, it’s denying Nigerian women and children representation. We are only three female senators now, down from eight,” she said.
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