Unlike most communicable diseases, globally, the absolute burden and relative rank of viral hepatitis increased between 1990 and 2013. The number of deaths due to viral hepatitis is increasing and most of these deaths are due to Hepatitis B and C.
Hundreds of millions are infected globally and more than a million die due to Viral Hepatitis.
In the South-East Asia Region viral hepatitis kills approximately 350 000 people every year. It is responsible for more deaths in the Region than HIV and malaria combined, and is second only to tuberculosis as a major cause of death. Across this Region, viral hepatitis is driving rates of liver cancer and cirrhosis and is a substantial contributor to premature morbidity and mortality. While water borne viral Hepatitis - i.e., A and E have been controlled in many countries, some countries in our region continue to report outbreaks of Hepatitis A and E.
In the face of the public health challenge posed by viral hepatitis, we now have hope. We have the means to prevent most hepatitis cases from occurring in the first place, and we have a range of powerful tools to treat the disease.
Given that effective tools and strategies for prevention and treatment are at our disposal, we cannot – and must not – accept the fact that hepatitis should kill hundreds of thousands of people in our Region every year.
As viral hepatitis is preventable, there is much that we can do to alleviate the burden. Of particular note in the prevention of hepatitis B is the fact that we have at our disposal an extremely effective vaccine. By administering the vaccine within 24 hours of birth, followed by two to three doses in the first six months of life, mother-to-child transmission of the disease can be halted.
Harm reduction programs can halt the spread of hepatitis C and other blood-borne diseases among intravenous drug users. Safe practices related to injections, blood transfusions and other health care related procedures can diminish the spread of hepatitis B and C among health care consumers.
Availability of hygienic and clean food and water can reduce the risk of hepatitis A and E infection.
The severity of the Region-wide hepatitis burden, however, indicates that we are failing to put these tools to good use. As we mark World Hepatitis Day, we must be sensitive to these and other issues and commit to doing better in future. On this score, there is reason to be optimistic.
In recent years political commitment to fight viral hepatitis has steadily crystallized. Whereas viral hepatitis was absent from the Millennium Development Goals, SDG 3.3 now includes specific mention of the need to strengthen efforts to combat it. In May this year the World Health Assembly approved a Global Health Sector Strategy on Hepatitis that calls for ending the problem by 2030. And the South-East Asia Region has its own action plan to address viral hepatitis, with countries now developing or revising national action plans to effectively combat the disease.
With international assistance unlikely to increase, we must strengthen our own efforts by enhancing political commitment and collaboration among diverse interests and partners. New approaches to resource mobilization will be needed, including innovative financing mechanisms, catalytic philanthropy and corporate social responsibility.
Indeed, let us use this World Hepatitis Day to open a new chapter in our endeavour to battle against hepatitis. Through commitment, determined action and the use of existing technologies, we can end hepatitis as a public health threat within the next 15 years.
