About four million Ghanaians are living with hepatitis B and C, with more than 17,000 deaths recorded annually from complications linked to the viral infections.
The disease remains a major public health challenge despite progress in childhood vaccination, with health authorities calling for increased screening, treatment access and prevention measures to support Ghana’s target of eliminating viral hepatitis by 2030.
Dr John Gerald A Adiiboka, Programme Manager of the National Hepatitis Control Programme, disclosed the figures at the launch of World Hepatitis Day in Accra, where a technical working group towards hepatitis elimination was inaugurated.
He said national estimates showed that about three million people were living with hepatitis B, representing an infection rate of approximately nine per cent, while about 500,000 people had hepatitis C.
Dr Adiiboka said hepatitis B accounted for about 15,443 deaths in 2024 and was projected to cause nearly 16,000 deaths in 2025, while hepatitis C-related deaths were expected to rise from about 2,040 in 2024 to 2,080 this year.
He said Ghana was among 10 countries, including China, India, Nigeria and Ethiopia, contributing significantly to global hepatitis B deaths, making the disease a national public health priority.
The event was held under the theme: “Hepatitis, Let’s Break It Down! Elimination for Everyone, Everywhere Right Now!”
Dr Adiiboka said about 3,100 people were estimated to develop hepatitis B and C co-infection annually, while hepatitis C alone recorded nearly 10,000 new infections each year.
He said regional data showed that the highest burden of hepatitis B was in the Savannah Region, followed by the Northern, Upper West and Upper East regions.
For hepatitis C, he said the Upper East Region recorded the highest prevalence, followed by Upper West, Savannah, Northern and Bono regions.
Dr Adiiboka described the regional differences as a concern and called for targeted interventions in communities with higher disease burden.
He explained that viral hepatitis remained a “silent disease” because many infected persons showed no symptoms until advanced liver damage occurred.
“As a result, many patients report to health facilities only after developing liver cirrhosis or liver cancer, reducing their chances of successful treatment,” he said.
Dr Adiiboka said mother-to-child transmission accounted for about 95 per cent of hepatitis B infections in Ghana, making birth-dose vaccination a key prevention strategy.
He said Ghana had exceeded the World Health Organization (WHO) target of 90 per cent coverage for the third dose of hepatitis B vaccine, recording about 95 per cent infant immunisation coverage.
However, Dr Adiiboka said, significant gaps remained in diagnosis and treatment, with only about one per cent of people living with chronic hepatitis B aware of their status and less than one per cent receiving treatment.
For hepatitis C, he said only about nine per cent of infected persons had been diagnosed, while treatment coverage remained below one per cent.
Dr Adiiboka warned that Ghana would struggle to achieve the WHO elimination targets unless access to testing and treatment improved.
The WHO targets require 90 per cent of people living with chronic viral hepatitis to know their status and 80 per cent of diagnosed patients to receive treatment by 2030.
Dr Adiiboka identified limited access to affordable testing, inadequate surveillance systems and insufficient dedicated funding as major barriers to controlling the disease.
He said routine hepatitis screening remained largely limited to pregnant women, blood donors and some healthcare workers, while many people could not afford testing because viral hepatitis services were not comprehensively covered under the National Health Insurance Scheme.
Dr Adiiboka commended the partnership between the Governments of Ghana and Egypt, which had enabled free hepatitis treatment at teaching hospitals, regional hospitals and selected health facilities.
He said the treatment, which ordinarily cost between GH¢6,000 and GH¢10,000 per month, was now provided at no cost to eligible patients under the collaboration.
Dr Adiiboka announced plans to introduce universal birth-dose hepatitis B vaccination nationwide to protect newborns immediately after birth and reduce mother-to-child transmission.
He described the intervention as a cost-effective measure for preventing chronic hepatitis infection, liver cirrhosis and liver cancer.
Dr Adiiboka called for improved quality of hepatitis care, expanded routine screening beyond high-risk groups, increased diagnosis and treatment, sustainable financing for hepatitis programmes and full implementation of the National Strategic Plan for Viral Hepatitis.
He urged Ghanaians, particularly those born before hepatitis B vaccination was introduced into the national immunisation programme in 2002, to get tested, stressing that early diagnosis and treatment remained the surest means of preventing avoidable deaths from liver disease.
Source: GNA
