Include testing, treatment of Hepatitis B onto NHIS - Deputy Majority Leader urges govt

THE Deputy Majority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, has urged the government to make the testing, vaccination and treatment of Hepatitis B accessible to rural communities to save lives, particularly of underprivileged women and their newborns.

He suggested that the government must enroll the disease onto the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) to make its treatment more affordable or even free such as in the case of tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS.

“HIV patients get the antiretroviral drugs free of charge. Unfortunately, Hepatitis B patients, who also rely on this same medication have to buy,” he said.

Reducing morbidity

Presenting a statement on Hepatitis B and its enrolment on the NHIS programme on the floor of Parliament last Tuesday, Mr Afenyo-Markin said “If we do this, it will reduce morbidity and mortality in our country to the barest minimum with a strong focus on vulnerable groups within our rural areas.”

“I will also urge the government to intensify education on the Hepatitis B virus so that those who often rely on traditional herbal treatment will desist from that since this leads to escalation and often create a situation where the liver gets damaged and they die quicker than expected,” he said.

The deputy majority leader, who is also the Member of Parliament (MP) for Effutu, said the World Health Organisation (WHO) estimated that 296 million people worldwide were living with chronic Hepatitis B as of 2019, with 1.5 million infections each year.

He, however, said the disease could be prevented by vaccines that were safe, available and effective.

Survey

He recalled a survey he sponsored in 2019 in his constituency which showed that 8.5 per cent prevalence rate of Hepatitis B in the area, describing the situation as “a disheartening situation for my people in Effutu”.

“As of 2019, only 30.4 million people globally, representing 10.5 per cent of all people estimated to be living with Hepatitis B were aware of their infection due to the silent nature of the disease while 6.6 million representing 22 per cent of people diagnosed were on treatment.

“Mr Speaker, despite the high infection rate, viral Hepatitis B can be eradicated with the right instruments and this include the introduction of affordable and easily accessible Hepatitis B Immunoglobulin (HBIG), monovalent vaccine and antivirals for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of Hepatitis B,” he said.

Newborn infections

Mr Afenyo-Markin said estimates from a Ghana Health Service press release on World Hepatitis Day showed that an average of 120,000 newborns would be exposed to the virus by their mothers during delivery and up to 90 per cent of those babies might end up being infected.

“Mr Speaker, these newborns can avert the disease by receiving treatment with Hepatitis B immunoglobin and vaccination which is yet to be introduced by GHS.

“The cost of the immunoglobin is quite expensive averaging approximately GH1,000 for underprivileged women in rural areas hence the increase of the disease to their newborns at birth

“According to the WHO, the introduction of Hepatitis B birth dose vaccination is key to the prevention of childhood infections,” he said.

Mr Afenyo-Markin pointed out that currently most people, particularly pregnant women in rural areas, lacked access to routine testing during pregnancy.

Most pregnant women and individuals testing positive required evaluation for treatment to suppress the virus,” he said.

“Very few, if any, are able to access or afford such services due to its high cost and since it is not available on our NHIS.

“In the Effutu Municipality, there is no access to Hepatitis B viral load testing which is a key diagnostic factor in management of the disease,” he said.

Duty call

He told the House that it was only the teaching hospitals that were well equipped to manage Hepatitis B, hence affected people in rural areas who were referred and were mostly the poor declined and sought alternative treatment, leading to complications and death.

“As the leading cause of liver cancer worldwide, viral Hepatitis B elimination could greatly reduce the rate of liver cancer deaths, if only we can find and treat the millions of people who are unaware they are living with the condition,” he added.

He, therefore, called on MPs, corporate entities, traditional and religious leaders as well as other stakeholders to actively engage in public