Hepatitis B: Ghana cannot afford to look away
The revelation that about three out of every four liver cancer cases diagnosed in Ghana are linked to chronic hepatitis B infection should not be treated as just another health statistic.
It is a warning. Behind every figure is a human being, a family and, in many cases, a breadwinner whose death leaves both emotional and economic wounds.
That is why the disclosure by gastroenterologist and President of the Ghana Association for the Study of Liver and Digestive Diseases (GASLIDD), Dr Eileen Akonobea Micah, that many patients report to hospital only after liver cancer has advanced should concern the entire country.
The situation is particularly worrying because hepatitis B can remain without obvious symptoms for years.
By the time some patients seek medical attention, the damage to the liver may already be severe and treatment options limited.
Dr Micah’s account of two brothers in their late 20s who died of liver cancer three months apart, while two of their siblings are living with hepatitis B and receiving treatment, brings home the devastating reality of the disease.
These were young people in the prime of their lives. Their deaths represent not only a loss to their families but also a loss of productive years to the national economy.
The fact that palliative care may prolong life by only three to six months in advanced cases makes early detection even more important.
Ghana must therefore move from talking about hepatitis B to taking sustained, practical action against it.
The call for the decentralisation of hepatitis B treatment deserves serious attention. If treatment is available only at selected centres, people living far from those facilities will inevitably face difficulties accessing care.
Decentralising services, as Dr Micah suggested, would bring treatment closer to communities and make it easier for more eligible patients to receive the care they need.
It would also support Ghana’s efforts to meet the World Health Organisation (WHO) target of treating at least 80 per cent of eligible hepatitis patients by 2030. But decentralisation alone will not solve the problem.
The country needs an aggressive public education campaign to encourage people to know their hepatitis B status.
Screening must become a routine part of preventive healthcare, particularly because a person can carry the infection without knowing it.
Health facilities must also be adequately equipped to provide timely testing, monitoring and treatment. The health system cannot wait for patients to become seriously ill before responding.
There is also a responsibility on individuals. Ghanaians must take their health seriously by getting screened, seeking medical advice when necessary and following prescribed treatment.
Families should not wait until a relative develops serious symptoms before encouraging them to seek care.
The availability of safe and effective vaccines against hepatitis B also provides an important tool for prevention.
Public awareness of vaccination must therefore be strengthened, alongside other measures to prevent the transmission of the virus.
This paper is of the firm conviction that Ghana has an opportunity to prevent many of the deaths associated with hepatitis B and liver cancer.
But that opportunity will be lost if the country continues to respond only when patients arrive at hospitals with advanced disease.
Government must provide the resources and policy support needed to expand screening and decentralise treatment.
Health authorities must strengthen public education and surveillance, while healthcare professionals must continue to push for early diagnosis and treatment.
Most importantly, the public must not wait for symptoms before acting.
A hepatitis B test may take only a short time, but it could make the difference between early treatment and a late diagnosis.
Ghana must therefore make screening easier, treatment more accessible and prevention more widespread.
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