Roll Out Awareness Campaign On Hepatitis

Yesterday July 28, was World Hepatitis Day. The day comes and goes with little information and knowledge about the widespread disease which is estimated to affect 500 million people leading to various health complications.Hepatitis can be severe and also chronic. Different types of the disease occur, and apparently, it is a preventable illness that can be avoided given the right conditions.The Ministry of Health is set to roll out the Hepatitis vaccine to scale back the disease in the country. In order to prevent Hepatitis infections, the vaccine is an important part of the struggle.Importantly, for effective prevention and even treatment, it is important to have widespread awareness about the diseases in communities. Many people are not aware of their status in regard to hepatitis because at times it may not show any symptoms according to experts.More, many are not even aware of its existence yet it is widespread. Therefore, a massive sensitisation and health campaign to make people aware of the disease, its symptoms and how it is acquired ought to be rolled out alongside the vaccination campaign that is set to start.It is important to draw lessons from the vigorous campaign that has been carried out against HIV/AIDS. At the same time, people infected with HIV are more prone to getting Hepatitis. Therefore, it is also important to integrate the campaign against hepatitis with the campaign against HIV/ AIDS.