The president of the World Hepatitis Alliance, Danjuma Adda, has urged the federal government to integrate hepatitis B tests into antenatal, maternal, and child healthcare services.

Mr Adda gave the advice on Friday on the sidelines of the 2024 biennial conference organised by the National Council for Women Societies (NCWS) in Abuja.

He emphasised the need for the Nigerian government to invest in and integrate the hepatitis B test into antenatal, maternal, and child healthcare to strengthen the country’s immunisation programme. 

He noted that the hepatitis B test was integrated into maternal and child healthcare programmes.

Mr Adda, who described hepatitis as a serious disease that killed his mother, stated that the government should integrate hepatitis B surface antigen testing in antenatal care and maternal child health programmes so that all women could get tested.

He said that getting tested was part of women’s fundamental rights, calling on all women across the country to demand a hepatitis B test.

Mr Adda said, “The first thing we need to know is that hepatitis B is completely preventable with an effective right vaccine. So, there are two measures to be able to reduce what is called the liver cancer.

“Liver cancer occurs mostly, especially among people who developed hepatitis B. developing liver cancer is more if one gets infected from childhood and because hepatitis B can be transmitted from mother to child.”

The health expert added, “The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends that pregnant women must be screened for hepatitis so as to identify which woman has hepatitis, and if you know of any of the women that have this, there is an intervention that must be given.

“There are dual interventions, testing for pregnant women, and if the woman is positive to hepatitis B, at 28 weeks of pregnancy, the woman is supposed to be placed on a prophylactic prevention treatment until delivery.”

According to him, all pregnant women must go for antenatal care. 

He called on all pregnant women to take it upon themselves to ensure they attend antenatal and that they demand the hepatitis B test during antenatal.

(NAN)