World Hepatitis Day Initiatives
The World Hepatitis Alliance supports campaigners and patient organisations around the world to help make a difference to the lives of the millions of people living with viral hepatitis and to prevent new infections. To find out more on what is going on in your country, use the map below to find local organisations, World Hepatitis Day initiatives and other initiatives.
You can also look at our ‘Wall of Stories’ and submit your own personal experience of living with hepatitis or find other community resources including an Online Scrapbook and our latest Newsletters. The This is hepatitis... blog features bloggers from around the world talking about their experiences with hepatitis.
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Country: Egypt
City: Cairo
Type: WHD
Egypt - WHD 2011
At a press conference held by the National Committee for the Control of Viral Hepatitis (NCCVH) to mark World Hepatitis Day, Gamal Esmat from the Association of liver patients care – Dakalhia stated that more attention must be paid to the prevention and treatment of hepatitis C in Egypt. He also announced that hepatitis C prevalence is more than 10 percent in the country and it is the health challenge that tops Egypt’s national priorities. During the event information was shared on progress in treating hepatitis C via a National Project launched by the Health Ministry in April, involving free distribution of anti-viral drugs. Furthermore, there was general agreement on the need to align government and community to raise more resources toward tackling hepatitis C.
According to Gamal Esmat, eliminating discrimination against hepatitis C patients is another important issue that needs to get more media attention as public and private employers refuse to take employ patients due to the fear of disease transmission. He added “Nobody has the right to deprive 10 percent of Egypt’s population from taking part in society for reasons that are not based on medical facts.” Considering the lack of awareness about hepatitis in the country and based on the adage “prevention is better than cure", Professor Mohamed Kamal Shaker announced NCCVH will launch a media awareness campaign in the near future. He urged the media to take an active role in campaigns to educate the public on how to prevent the spread of hepatitis C.
A ceremony was held at the East Mediterranean Regional Office (EMRO) of the World Health Organisation in Cairo to celebrate Word Hepatitis Day. Several key figures, including the Minister of Health and foreign experts, such as the head of the WHO viral hepatitis unit Dr Wiersma, attended the event, which highlighted that around 350 million people suffer from chronic hepatitis B and around 170 million from chronic hepatitis C worldwide. Egypt is at the very top of the list of countries affected by hepatitis C with prevalence reaching 14.7% of the population. On the occasion, the Egyptian government committed itself to substantially reviewing their hepatitis strategy in order to curb the disease
