Oman marks World Hepatitis Day

Muscat: The Sultanate, represented by the Ministry of Health (MOH) in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) celebrated on Wednesday the World Hepatitis Day, which falls on 28 July every year.

The virtual celebration themed “Hepatitis Can’t Wait'.

It aims to promote national and global efforts in combating viral hepatitis, raise awareness of hepatitis and the inflammation of the liver that causes a range of health problems, and encourage protective measures against this disease.

On this occasion, Dr Ahmed al Mandhari, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean Region stated: 'Today, we mark World Hepatitis Day amid the COVID-19 pandemic. It is a chance to reflect on our Member States' commitment to ensuring the continuity of hepatitis services and reaching the elimination targets in the Global Health Sector Strategy and our regional vision of Health for All'.

The Regional Director also added that according to WHO estimates, in 2020 there were 30 million people chronically infected with viral hepatitis viruses in the Eastern Mediterranean Region; 65000 people died of hepatitis and 570000 became infected.

COVID-19 made it even more difficult to deliver essential health services, including vaccination, diagnosis and care. Despite the challenges and in line with the Sustainable Development Goals, WHO's Thirteenth Programme of Work (GPW13) and Vision2023, we must not lose sight of our goal of universal health coverage, said Dr Ahmed.

He stressed to vaccinate infants against hepatitis B, prevent mother- to- child transmission of hepatitis B virus, ensure blood and injection safety, reduce harm among people who inject drugs and implement testing with a view to treatment.

The WHO Regional Director urged ministers of health to renew their commitment to eliminating viral hepatitis and exert concerted effort among relevant programmes towards the elimination of mother- to- child transmission of HBV. --ONA