The Nasarawa State Government has inaugurated a twenty five man technical working group to carry out a five-year action plan on the elimination of hepatitis C.
The disease which is now curable, would be eliminated in partnership with the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI).
Statistics shows that every year there are about 1.57 million new infections which has made the disease a global concern.
It is a known fact that the viral hepatitis is a public health problem with over 325 million people living with the disease across the globe according to the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI).
Aside the deaths caused by HIV/AIDs and other killer diseases, mortality rate from viral hepatitis has steadily increased, causing over 400 thousand deaths per year.
Hepatitis C is known as a primary virus of cirrhosis and liver cancer accounting for 9% of total deaths each year.
The viral hepatitis issue in Nigeria, is not different from the global perspective as over 18 million Nigerians live with the disease according to recent statistics from National Aid and Clinical Impact.
Nasarawa State has hepatitis C prevalence rate of 13.2 percent, a figure higher than the national average.
That is why the Nasarawa State Government is inaugurating this technical working group to carry out a five year elimination plan of hepatitis C.
The move is coming in partnership with CHAI foundation as hepatitis C is now a curable disease.
Medical experts say with this partnership, the disease can be cured within a period of 12 to 24 weeks after diagnosis.
