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Dr Mike Omotosho, the president of Hepatitis Zero Commission and HepatitisZero representative to the African Union (AU) gives in-depth education on Hepatitis shares efforts his commission is making to eradicate the disease in the country.
What is Hepatitis Zero?
Hepatitis Zero is a project aimed at achieving zero hepatitis by the year 2030 Globally. The World Hepatitis Eradication Initiative is dedicated to a hepatitis free world through advocacy, screening, prophylaxis and treatment. The Commission is currently present in 196 countries around the world, including Nigeria and is driven here by the Hepatitis Zero Nigerian Commission.
Who are the most vulnerable to this disease?
Hepatitis is a disease that has no age barrier, everyone is at risk of contracting the virus. i must at this point give kudos to the Federal Government because the National Primary Health Care Development Agency is doing a good job at ensuring that children from birth to age 5 are immunized with the Hepatitis B Vaccine which is part of the routine immunization, furthermore, the National Aids and Sexually Transmitted Diseases Control Program is also putting in place structures to ensure that every adult is screened for hepatitis as required, it is, therefore, our target to help achieve zero hepatitis with multilateral interventions because the hepatitis virus is several times more virulent than other viruses even the dreaded HIV and the symptoms of hepatitis are not very obvious, everyone is at risk of contracting hepatitis; a silent killer!
We heard about the outreach that your commission is planning to carry out in Ibadan, wherein Ibadan to be specific?
The Ibadan outreach will be holding at the Shoprite Palms Mall Ringroad, we are glad to have the Management of the Mall partner with us on this just as we did with Ikeja City Mall in Lagos and Jabi Mall in Abuja.
How often do you think the people of Ibadan can enjoy this opportunity?
The outreach will hold every fortnight for now at the Mall and we will let the general public know as we open new sites. We ask that people follow us on our social media handles; @hepatitiszerong
What are your plans for other parts of Oyo State Zone which are Òkè Ògún, Ogbomoso, Ibarapa, Oyo Zones?
Understandably, Ibadan is our launch pad for Oyo State and we are hopeful that with support from the government who we are currently in talks with and other well-meaning Nigerians in the private and public sector, we will reach all the nooks and crannies of Nigeria and Oyo State in Particular.
What are your plans for the whole of Southwestern Nigeria and by extension Nigeria and Africa as a whole?
Like all other zones in Nigeria where activities are ongoing, the southwest has been active in Lagos and Ogun States, we are now kicking off in Oyo State, Osun State is also in view.
So, When are the people of Ibadan going to start enjoying this privilege?
Yes, it is Happening Officially for the first time Today, Saturday 5th September 2020 at the Shoprite Palms Mall Ringroad from 10 am to 5 pm.
What are the processes of Screening, Vaccination and Follow-ups?
The entire process is proactively time-saving, from Registration through screening and then the first dose of the Vaccination will take less than 10mins so people have nothing to worry about. Measures have also been put in place for the follow-up shots and opportunities to reach those who miss certain doses. Those who test positive for the Hepatitis B or C Virus will be referred to one of our partners here in Ibadan for proper care and follow-up while those who test negative will be vaccinated a subsidized cost.
What are the plans for those who test positive and negative respectively?
All hope is not lost as we are unequivocal in our determination to help meet the United Nation’s SDG target 3.3 of stooping the transmission of a communicable disease like hepatitis by the year 2030 with all hands on deck.
How much is the vaccine without subsidization?
Depending on hospital or clinic location, the vaccination would usually cost anything between 2,500 and 5,000 naira per dose or even more but with the help of partners we are able to give it a subsidized rate of 1000 Naira per dose, while the two screenings (Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C tests) are completely free.
There are over five million people in OYO state, in what timeline do you hope to cover the state?
We cannot put a specific timeline to this but we are hoping that if all hands come on deck in about 5 – 7 years, we should be able to say Zero Hepatitis in Oyo State.
Technically, explain the process of hepatitis to us, does it relapse? How can it be contacted? What are the possibilities of getting a cure? What happens after vaccination? What is the risk of living with it without knowing?
This is a very important question; Hepatitis in lay terms is the Inflammation of the liver and there are several variants but the 5 common strains of Viral Hepatitis are A, B, C, D and E. Hepatitis B and C can be contracted through exchange of body fluids while Hepatitis A and E are self-limiting but can be contracted via oral faecal route.
For us as an organisation, our focus is on Hepatitis B and C. Hepatitis B is a DNA virus and can be managed but not cured, it, however, has a vaccine for prevention which we are giving at a subsidized rate per dose while Hepatitis C has a treatment leading to a permanent cure. When a person who tests negative for Hepatitis B is given 3 shots of the vaccine the person is protected against the virus for at least 30 years. It is indeed very dangerous to live with the virus without knowing as one may be spreading it to others unknowingly, the World Health Organization has postulated that almost 27million Nigerian are walking around with the virus, infecting others and they will continue to infect others inadvertently because most of them DO NOT even know their status. Hepatitis kills almost 1.5 million people annually and that represents about 4,000 deaths daily globally, additionally, Hepatitis is the leading cause of death from Liver Cancer.
Nigerian Commission President – +2349011100001
Nigerian Commission Secretary – +2348185500863
Oyo State Coordinator – +2347059815559
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