By Atoyebi Nike
The Federal Government has disclosed that Nigeria loses between ₦13.3 trillion and ₦17.9 trillion annually due to direct and indirect costs associated with hepatitis, a disease that affects over 20 million citizens.
Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Pate, revealed this on Monday at a press briefing in Abuja to mark the 2025 World Hepatitis Day themed “Hepatitis: Let’s break it down.”
Represented by the Director of Public Health, Dr. Godwin Ntadom, Pate stated that Nigeria carries the third-highest hepatitis burden globally, with 18.2 million people infected with Hepatitis B and 2.5 million with Hepatitis C.
He noted that over 90% of infected persons are undiagnosed, and many symptoms are misdiagnosed as malaria, allowing the disease to silently progress to liver failure or cancer. Annually, about 4,252 Nigerians die from liver cancer caused by untreated hepatitis.
To address the crisis, the Federal Government is launching Project 365 a nationwide, year-long, constituency-based campaign to screen, diagnose, and treat hepatitis, aiming to eliminate Hepatitis C and reduce Hepatitis B transmission by 2030.
The initiative includes expanded budgetary support, the creation of a viral hepatitis elimination fund, tax incentives, local pharmaceutical production boosts, and legislative backing for widespread access to diagnosis and treatment.
In a goodwill message, Africa CDC’s National Coordinator, Dr. Oluyinka Olayemi, praised Nigeria’s leadership in public health and reaffirmed the organization’s support. Delivered by Africa CDC’s Titilola Munkail, the message highlighted Nigeria’s consistent role in health leadership across the continent.
Gen. Yakubu Gowon (Rtd), Nigeria’s Presidential Ambassador on hepatitis control, also commended the government and urged collective action. Represented by Adeyeye Ajayi, he encouraged a national movement to eliminate stigma, improve awareness, and drive access to care.
Dr. Adebobola Bashorun, National Coordinator of the National AIDS and STDs Control Programme, stressed community engagement, advocacy, and education as vital to hepatitis prevention. He explained that Hepatitis B and C are primarily transmitted through unprotected sex, contact with infected blood, and shared sharp objects.
He advised Nigerians to embrace preventive measures, including vaccination, fidelity, abstinence, and condom use. He added that while Hepatitis C is curable, Hepatitis B is manageable with medication to reduce progression.
In Kano State, Commissioner for Health Dr. Abubakar Yusuf said over 1.2 million people are living with Hepatitis B. Marking World Hepatitis Day, he announced the release of ₦95 million for the purchase of rapid test kits and medication, alongside the state’s “HepFree Mothers, Healthy Babies” programme providing free screening and treatment for pregnant women.
The state has also deployed health workers to labour wards to administer hepatitis vaccines to newborns, with an additional ₦135 million pending approval to expand the programme.
Yusuf affirmed that all blood transfusion centres in Kano now screen for hepatitis and urged development partners, the private sector, and the media to support the state in eliminating hepatitis as a public health threat.
