The Kwara State Government has unveiled a roadmap aimed at eliminating viral hepatitis as a public health threat in the state by 2030.

The Viral Hepatitis Elimination Roadmap, themed “Let’s Break It Down,” was unveiled in Ilorin on Monday as part of efforts to strengthen prevention, diagnosis, treatment, surveillance and public awareness of the disease.

The development was contained in a statement issued on Tuesday by the Press Secretary of the Kwara State Ministry of Health, Saad Hamdalat, and made available to PUNCH Online.

Speaking at the event, the Commissioner for Health, Dr Amina El-Imam, described the launch as a significant milestone in the state’s efforts to strengthen preventive healthcare and achieve Universal Health Coverage.

She said, “Viral hepatitis remains a silent killer in our communities. Recent data indicates that Nigeria accounts for approximately 15 per cent of the global burden of Hepatitis B, with an estimated 20 million Nigerians living with chronic Hepatitis B or C infection.”

El-Imam noted that thousands of people in Kwara, as in other parts of the country, could be living with the infection without knowing their status, putting them at risk of complications such as liver cirrhosis and liver cancer.

She said the burden of the disease should not be viewed as a reason for despair but as a call for stronger and more coordinated action.

The commissioner explained that the roadmap would serve as a strategic blueprint for ending viral hepatitis as a public health threat in Kwara by 2030, in line with the World Health Organisation’s global elimination targets.

“The roadmap is not a standalone document but an operational extension of the ‘Kwara Model’ of health system strengthening, designed to align our response with the WHO’s 2030 elimination targets,” she said.

According to her, the global targets include diagnosing 90 per cent of people living with viral hepatitis and ensuring that 80 per cent of those eligible for treatment receive it.

El-Imam said the state government would intensify screening programmes to determine the prevalence of viral hepatitis in the state and ensure infected persons were identified and linked to appropriate care.

She also announced plans to scale up Hepatitis B birth-dose vaccination, noting that improved coverage remained a key priority in preventing mother-to-child transmission of the virus.

“The roadmap will integrate hepatitis screening and care into existing Primary Health Care centres, Maternal and Child Health services, and HIV/TB clinics,” the commissioner said.

She added that care would be decentralised through the state’s network of PHCs and general hospitals to make hepatitis services more accessible to residents.

El-Imam further disclosed that the roadmap would establish a stronger surveillance system to monitor the incidence and prevalence of viral hepatitis, as well as treatment outcomes.

“This will ensure that our decisions are driven by data rather than assumptions,” she said.

Earlier, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health, Dr Taoheed Abdullahi, described viral hepatitis as a significant health concern in Nigeria.

Abdullahi said the roadmap would provide direction for strengthening healthcare services and reducing the disease burden in Kwara.

He appealed to traditional, religious and community leaders to intensify awareness about viral hepatitis and encourage members of their communities to undergo early testing.

“Stakeholders must continue to take the message of hepatitis prevention and early testing to the grassroots because awareness remains critical to reducing the burden of the disease,” Abdullahi said.

Also speaking, the Chairman of the Technical Working Group, Prof Abdulfatai Olokooba, said the committee developed the roadmap using available data and in line with the WHO template.

Olokooba expressed optimism that faithful implementation of the document would significantly reduce the burden of viral hepatitis in the state.

He said the roadmap covered key areas including treatment, surveillance, data management for evidence-based decision-making and capacity building for healthcare workers.

“The roadmap provides a structured approach to tackling the disease through treatment, surveillance, data management and capacity building,” Olokooba said.

The Programme Coordinator, HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis and Other STIs Control Unit, Dr Rasheed Muhammad, described viral hepatitis as a major health scourge that causes inflammation of the liver.

Muhammad said about eight out of every 100 Nigerians were estimated to be positive for Hepatitis B, adding that the infection commonly affects young people.

“Hepatitis B is a silent infection because many infected persons may not know their status and could unknowingly transmit the virus to others,” he said.

He explained that Hepatitis B could be transmitted through exposure to infected blood, sexual contact, sharing of needles and other contaminated materials.

He stressed the importance of testing, prevention and early treatment to reduce transmission and prevent complications associated with the disease.

The statement said the launch of the “Let’s Break It Down” Viral Hepatitis Elimination Roadmap marked a renewed commitment by the Kwara State Government to strengthening prevention, early detection and access to treatment.

It added that the ultimate goal was to eliminate viral hepatitis as a public health threat in the state by 2030.