Ghana has diagnosed only one per cent of people living with chronic hepatitis B, with less than one per cent currently receiving treatment.
For hepatitis C, only nine per cent of infected persons have been diagnosed, while fewer than one per cent are on treatment
The World Health Organisation’s (WHO) roadmap requires that by 2030, 90 per cent of people living with chronic hepatitis B and C should be diagnosed, while 80 per cent of those diagnosed should be on treatment.
The Programme Manager of the National Viral Hepatitis Control Programme, Dr John Gerald Adiiboka, who revealed the figures at the commemoration of World Hepatitis Day 2026 in Accra yesterday, said the country was far off track in its fight against viral hepatitis.
He called for an urgent need to expand screening, improve financing and stronger political commitment if the country was to meet the WHO target of eliminating viral hepatitis as a public health threat by 2030.
World Hepatitis Day
The World Hepatitis Day event was on the theme “Hepatitis Elimination for Everyone, Everywhere, Right Now!”
At the event a National Viral Hepatitis Technical Working Group was inaugurated and tasked to, among others, develop and implement a national elimination plan, strengthen surveillance and ensure hepatitis services were integrated into primary healthcare and maternal and child health programmes.
Also, musician and development communication scientist, Okyeame Kwame, was officially named the Ghana Health Service’s Hepatitis Ambassador to champion nationwide advocacy and help increase public understanding of the disease.
Vaccination success
Dr Adiiboka commended Ghana for exceeding WHO’s target for infant hepatitis B vaccination coverage which currently stood at about 95 per cent, surpassing the global target of 90 per cent.
“Elimination is achievable with financing, testing and political will. Ghana has already shown what it can do through vaccination. If we put the right policies together, we can eliminate viral hepatitis before 2030,” he said.
Call to action
The Minister of Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, said an estimated three million Ghanaians were living with hepatitis B, while about 500,000 had hepatitis C.
However, he said many were unaware of their status because the infections could remain symptomless for years while progressively damaging the liver.
He said chronic hepatitis B and C were leading causes of liver cirrhosis and liver cancer, with liver cancer currently ranked as the third most commonly diagnosed cancer in the country and the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths.
He said Hepatitis B could be prevented through vaccination and effectively managed with treatment, while hepatitis C could be cured with highly effective medicines.
He pledged the government’s commitment to strengthen vaccination, improve laboratory and surveillance capacity, and work with the National Health Insurance Authority to develop sustainable financing mechanisms to reduce the cost of testing and treatment.
Commitment
The Director-General of the Ghana Health Service, Dr Samuel Kaba Akoriyea, reaffirmed the service’s commitment to expand access to hepatitis prevention, testing, treatment and long-term care, decentralising services and strengthening surveillance systems.
The Chairman of Parliament’s Health Committee, Dr Mark Kurt Nawaane, pledged parliament’s support for government and civil society efforts to achieve the country’s hepatitis elimination targets.
Ghanaian musician and Hepatitis Ambassador, Okyeame Kwame, also pledged to use his influence to intensify public awareness of viral hepatitis, particularly by addressing stigma and simplifying health information for the general public.
