Message from the Honorable Commissioner of Health, Nasarawa State Ministry of Health on the 2021 World Hepatitis Day tagged ‘Hepatitis can’t wait’
July 28 every year has been set aside by the World Health Organization as World Hepatitis Day. It is a day where millions of people around the world gather to enhance awareness of viral hepatitis and associated consequences of this disease.
Viral Hepatitis amongst other non-communicable diseases contributes significantly to the high mortality rates globally with an estimated 1.3 M deaths per year. Viral Hepatitis has 5 subtypes i.e. Hepatitis A, B, C, D, and E however, it is important to note that Hepatitis B virus (HBV) and Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) are the primary causes of liver diseases and cancer, accounting for 9% of total deaths from all cancers each year. In Nigeria, no fewer than 18 million people are living with viral hepatitis with prevalence rates of 8.1% for Hepatitis B Virus and 1.1% for Hepatitis C Virus. Similarly, a study conducted in Nasarawa state revealed a seroprevalence rate of 13.2% for Hepatitis C Virus, a figure significantly higher than the country average. This implies that no fewer than 250,000 persons are living with the disease.
In response, the government has worked closely with partners such as Clinton Health Access Initiative over the last three years to accelerate the state viral hepatitis response, taking a cue from the global and national levels. The first step was to set-up a State Viral Hepatitis Desk to domesticate the National Treatment Guidelines and device innovative models to drive rapid access to diagnostic and treatment services for our dear people of Nasarawa State living with viral hepatitis. One of the early breakthroughs by the State was the successful integration of HCV diagnostics on the GeneXpert platform to facilitate access to Hepatitis C viral load testing, an intervention which has enjoyed global recognition and it’s the first of its kind in sub-Saharan Africa. We also ensured the availability of a 12-week curative treatment regimen for Hepatitis C which has enabled us to simplify service delivery and ensured the availability of treatment services in all parts of the state. Through these preliminary efforts, no fewer than 85,000 persons have been screened and 1,500 treated. However, there still exists a monumental gap.
The State Government, under the leadership of Engr Abdullahi Sule, has prioritized the health needs of the State as reflected in the Nasarawa Economic Development Strategy. To build momentum on the initial gains made in the area of viral hepatitis, this administration has since February 2020 taken several bold steps to address the statewide burden of viral hepatitis thereby driving the State response. These steps are:
The commitment to Hepatitis C elimination in Nasarawa by 2024. This five-year strategic plan is designed to facilitate screening for over 2.4m persons and treatment of over 124,000 persons
The inauguration of a Viral Hepatitis Technical Working Group to ensure the proper planning and execution of the Hepatitis C Elimination
The roll out of the viral hepatitis elimination program using a phased approach with micro-elimination amongst the PLHIVs being prioritized
The allocation of an initial N40m as initial seed funds in 2020 to show evidence of Government commitment and the subsequent allocation of N70M in 2021 to advance the implementation of the elimination program
The TWG, under my leadership began implementation of the elimination program in 2020 and were able to record remarkable milestones that includes:
Facilitated training for 97 HCWs across 20 health facilities on viral hepatitis management
Designed the M&E framework, reporting tools, and instituted a routine reporting system for timely and accurate data collection
Successful integration of Hepatitis C screening services across the ART sites
Activation of free Hepatitis C screening services in HIV clinics across 13 secondary healthcare facilities
Utilized Government funding to procure an initial batch of 5,000 Hepatitis C Rapid Test Kits (RTKs)
Secured donation of 1,000 Hepatitis C RTKs and 650 HBV RTKs from Healthline pharmaceuticals during the 2020 World Hepatitis Day celebrations
In 2021, the Nasarawa State Viral Hepatitis Elimination TWG leveraging on the momentum garnered from initial implementation efforts moved swiftly to advance the program with the respective TWG sub-committees working hard to ensure the success of the elimination program even in the face of COVID-19 and limited resources. Progress made so far in 2021 across various thematic areas includes:
Release of N10M and subsequent procurement of Hepatitis C screening kits, viral load, and treatment commodities
Conducted screenings of over 8000 PLHIVs with over 1200 sero-positives and sero-positivity rate of 14.8% realized
Rolled out linkage to free Hepatitis C diagnostics and treatment of waitlisted sero-positives in 6 facilities with over 200 viral load tests conducted and vireamic patients linked to treatment
On track to achieve micro-eliminate viral hepatitis C amongst PLHIVs in 2 facilities (GH Keana and GH Awe)
Planned risk-assessment study to ascertain the key drivers of the high Hepatitis C burden in the State
Beyond, the gains made in the area of viral hepatitis, the State Government has further recorded wins in the area of effectively optimizing the concept of programs integration by leveraging on the lucrative HIV program and infrastructure to drive the uptake of HCV services. The State Primary Healthcare Development Agency is currently working with Clinton Health Access Initiative on the HBV-BD study which is aimed at demonstrating the tenets of the WHO HBV PMTCT Guidelines which was launched this day last year to ensure improved birth-dose vaccine coverage amongst other HBV PMTCT interventions in preventing mother to child transmission.
The theme for this year’s World Hepatitis Day is ‘Hepatitis can’t wait’ and the ongoing interventions in the State clearly positions Nasarawa as the flagship viral hepatitis elimination state in-country with the potential of catalyzing a robust National Viral hepatitis Elimination response. Nasarawa State also remains at the fore front of facilitating sustainable viral hepatitis domestic financing. The Deputy Governor today, will be sharing lessons on viral hepatitis ownership and financing to the Hepatitis community in a webinar organized by the National AIDS & STIs Control Program (NASCP).
We remain determined and committed to significantly reducing the burden of Hepatitis C in Nasarawa State through our viral hepatitis elimination resolve which has taken off with the PLHIV population. Working with our established partners, we continue to strengthen our M&E systems, logistics and supply chain management, and other vital programming requirements whilst engaging in further discussions with national and global bodies to secure the partnerships and collaborations needed to achieve the targets set by this program.
The Nasarawa State Government can’t wait to eliminate Hepatitis
God bless the good people of Nasarawa State.
Nasarawa North Youth Forum
Nasarawa TV News.
Nasarawa Peoples Congress - NPC
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