Hepatitis kills 1.3m people yearly, how you can avoid it – WHO

By Abujah Racheal, News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)

The World Health Organisation (WHO) says viral hepatitis, particularly types B and C, is a global public health threat that kills approximately 1.3 million people each year, making it second only to tuberculosis among infectious diseases.

In Nigeria, estimates from the National AIDS, STIs and Hepatitis Control Programme (NASCP) show that 8.1 per cent of adults aged 15–64 live with hepatitis B, and 1.1 per cent with hepatitis C.

On a worrisome note, more than 80 per cent of those infected are unaware of their status, enabling the virus to spread silently, in homes, hospitals, and correctional facilities.

Public health experts say correctional centres are among the highest-risk environments for viral hepatitis due to overcrowding, unsafe medical practices, limited access to testing, and stigma.

In spite of its deadly toll, hepatitis is often overlooked, especially in low- and middle-income countries like Nigeria.

More than 91 million people in the WHO African region live with hepatitis B or C, representing 26 per cent of the global burden.

Shared razor blades, contaminated injection equipment, and poor sanitation all contribute to the spread.

When 34-year-old Malam Musa Danladi was arrested, tried and sentenced in 2022, he knew prison would be tough; but what he did not expect was that a place of punishment would become a place of diagnosis, for a disease he had never heard of.

“They called me to the clinic one morning; I was confused; the nurse said I had hepatitis B; I did not even know what that meant.”

He is one of thousands of Nigerians living with viral hepatitis, a disease that often shows no symptoms until it causes irreversible damage to the liver.

Danladi is also among the few who discovered their status within prison walls.

“We used to share everything, razors, clippers, even toothbrushes; Nobody told us we were at risk.

“Incarcerated people face a triple burden: poverty, stigma, and disease, with few resources or pathways to care,” Danladi said.

In a bid to reverse this trend, the Nigerian government, in July, unveiled Project 365, a year-long national campaign to test, treat, and vaccinate millions of Nigerians for hepatitis, including those in prison settings.

The unveiling coincided with World Hepatitis Day, with the theme: “Hepatitis Can’t Wait- Test. Treat. Eliminate.”

According to Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Nigeria is losing between ₦10.3 trillion and ₦17.9 trillion annually to hepatitis-related productivity and healthcare costs.

“Project 365 is about saving lives and saving our economy,” he said.

Pate said that the project 365 aimed to screen every federal constituency in Nigeria, totaling 360, and to deliver curative treatment for hepatitis C as well as vaccination for hepatitis B.

He said it also sought to expand outreach to prisons, internally displaced persons (IDP) camps, rural communities, and other underserved regions.

The minister said it would ensure sustainable financing for testing and treatment, and the initiative established the Viral Elimination Fund (VEL).

Additionally, he said that the project 365 would promote local production of hepatitis diagnostics and medications, supported by tax incentives and regulatory reforms, to reduce reliance on imports.

At Kuje Medium Security Custodial Centre, a pilot hepatitis programme under the Viral Hepatitis Action in Correctional Services screened 830 inmates between December 2024 and June 2025.

Dr Ibrahim Ehizogie, a clinician with the Nigerian Correctional Services, said that many inmates were already infected with the disease while in custody.

Ehizogie said that the programme was now being scaled across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones, with a target to reach all 300 custodial centres in the country.

However, experts warn that without continued funding, education, and policy enforcement, these gains may be short-lived.

According to the 2024 INHSU Global Guideline on the Elimination of Hepatitis C in Prisons, incarcerated individuals have the same right to healthcare as the general population, and that denying hepatitis services in custody violates international human rights standards.

The guideline recommends that inmates should be tested and initiated on treatment within seven days of incarceration.

It also emphasises the integration of harm reduction services, such as safe injection practices and opioid substitution therapy, to reduce transmission.

Furthermore, the guideline advocates for peer-led education and community-based screening models to increase uptake and reduce stigma and stress the importance of ensuring continuity of care upon release, so that individuals can maintain their treatment and health outside prison walls.

Dr Mya Ngon, WHO Team Lead for Communicable and Non-Communicable Diseases, commended Nigeria’s efforts.

Ngon said that screening must be linked to treatment, and treatment must be linked to continuity of care, even after prison.

Since his release, Daladi has become a community advocate, telling others about hepatitis, its transmission, and the importance of testing.

“I did not die in prison; so, I want to use my voice; people need to know it is not a death sentence; you can treat it; you can live; but stigma remains.

“Some people say I brought prison sickness home; some would not even shake my hand,” he said.

According to him, at present, he works in his community to support reintegration and health education, urged the government to expand outreach to ex-inmates and low-income communities.