Hepatitis B: Ghana cannot afford a silent crisis
Ghana is facing a silent health crisis with three million people living with chronic Hepatitis B, yet less than one percent are diagnosed or receiving treatment. Health officials are calling for urgent government intervention to meet WHO targets for diagnosis and treatment by 2030.
Why it matters
Low diagnosis rates for asymptomatic diseases like Hepatitis B represent a major public health challenge in developing nations, requiring systemic investment.
An estimated three million people in Ghana are living with chronic hepatitis B, yet only one per cent have been diagnosed.
Even more worrying is that less than one per cent of those diagnosed are receiving treatment.
These statistics, released by the Ghana Health Service (GHS) during the commemoration of World Hepatitis Day yesterday, expose a silent health crisis that continues to claim lives while many people remain unaware of their status.
Unlike diseases that present obvious symptoms, viral hepatitis often develops quietly.
Many infected persons only seek medical attention after the liver has suffered severe damage.
As the Programme Manager of the National Viral Hepatitis Control Programme of the GHS, Dr John Gerald Adiiboka, said, “Most people living with viral hepatitis in
Ghana do not know they have the disease because it is largely asymptomatic. Many only report to the hospital when the liver has already been severely damaged.”
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