Uganda launches campaign against Hepatitis B

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Monday 09 Mar 2015 - 15:20 Makkah mean time-18-5-1436 Kenneth Kabagambe (Uganda's New Vision/Image) Kampala (IINA) – The Uganda Health Ministry and the National Organization for People Living with Hepatitis B (NOPLHB) have launched a campaign to create awareness and raise funds to fight against the disease, Uganda’s daily New Vision reported. The campaign aimed to enable community members participate in fighting the silent killer and to raise over 500 million shillings to strengthen the Hepatitis B clinic in Arua Regional Referral Hospital in Northern Uganda. “Apart from enhancing proper understanding of the disease, opportunities will also be given to communities for free screening, blood checkups, blood count, grouping and further tests for those who are positive,” said Kenneth Kabagambe, the NOPLHB executive director. Hepatitis B which is estimated to be killing 1.45 million people annually like HIV worldwide, is also believed to be affecting 3 million Ugandans chronically though unaware. According to the National Serosurvey 2004, majority of the infected people are from the north and northeast of Uganda with a prevalence rate of 20-25 percent, compared to the country’s 10 percent. Speaking to journalists at the launch of the campaign, Kabagambe said that the prevalence of the disease that is contracted through unprotected sex, sharing cutting objects and unscreened blood transfusion is high in the West Nile because of their culture of tattooing bodies and their living conditions in the aftermath of the Lord’s Resistance Army insurgence. “I doubt if these people use safe objects while tattooing themselves. But nevertheless we have to help our brothers because testing and treating the virus is very expensive for an average Ugandan,” he added. AB/IINA