By: Valentia Tetteh
The Minority Leader and Member of Parliament for Effutu, Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin, has issued a passionate call for decisive national action to tackle the hepatitis epidemic in Ghana.
Speaking on the floor of Parliament to commemorate World Hepatitis Day, observed globally on July 28, Mr. Afenyo-Markin urged the government to break down the systemic barriers that continue to endanger the lives of millions of Ghanaians living with the disease.
This year’s commemoration is under the theme: “Let’s Break It Down.”
The theme, Mr. Afenyo-Markin said, is a charge to eliminate financial, social, and structural barriers including stigma and inaccessibility that prevent citizens from accessing screening, vaccination, and treatment.
Highlighting the alarming impact of hepatitis B in Ghana, he noted that about four million Ghanaians are living with the virus, many of them unaware of their status due to limited access to healthcare services, especially in rural areas. He added that hepatitis B and C are the leading causes of liver cancer in the country, with chronic infections often progressing silently until irreversible damage occurs.
“It is a disease that is both preventable and treatable, and yet, it continues to claim lives unnecessarily,” he stated. “We must break down the walls of ignorance, stigma, inaccessibility, and, above all, cost.”
Drawing from personal experience in his constituency, the Minority Leader recounted distressing stories of mothers unable to afford hepatitis B immunoglobulin to protect their newborns, and young people dying from liver complications. In response, he initiated the HepaGuard Project in 2023, which has since evolved into the Afenyo-Markin Care Foundation. The foundation has screened and vaccinated over 20,000 people, initiated hundreds into treatment, and provided free immunoglobulin to dozens of newborns.
He also announced the construction of a dedicated Hepatitis and Liver Care Centre in Effutu, the first of its kind in the region, and the institution of May 27 as “Hepatitis B Awareness Day” in the constituency.
Despite community efforts, Mr Afenyo-Markin emphasized that true progress requires a strong national commitment. He called for the inclusion of hepatitis B treatment under the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), expansion of free community screening, subsidisation of birth dose vaccines and immunoglobulin, and a comprehensive national awareness campaignto combat stigma.
“Too many Ghanaians are still dying from hepatitis, not because treatment does not exist, but because it remains financially out of reach,” he stressed.
He appealed to Parliament, the Ministry of Health, the National Health Insurance Authority, and all relevant stakeholders to take historic steps toward transforming hepatitis care in Ghana.
“Let us position Ghana as a leader on the African continent in the fight against viral hepatitis. Let’s break it down together, and for good,” he concluded.
One Response
Is good this man is standing in to speak for the voiceless and I think government must act now to break the barriers to cost of treatment testing and vaccination.