Pushing for hepatitis awareness

MANILA, Philippines - The National Viral Hepatitis Task Force (NVHTF), the Viral Hepatitis Foundation (VHF), and the Hepatology Society of the Philippines (HSP) came together recently for a Hepatitis B consultative meeting. The meeting brought together hepatitis experts from around the world to discuss the different means of working together to bring awareness on the increasing risks and burdens of hepatitis B both in the Philippines and around the world.

“Raising public awareness and pushing legislation for hepatitis awareness and patient rights is a dream for us,” Dr. Diana Payawal, HSP current president and executive council member of Asian Pacific Association for the Study of the Liver (APASL), shared. “It is a milestone in our society to get experts together to truly push forward hepatitis awareness in the country.”

The meeting brought together experts from around the world in the field of hepatitis that included Dr. Robert Gish, Dr. Stephen Locarnini and Dr. Noel Fajardo from VHF, and Dr. Karen Hennessy from the World Health Organization (WHO). Each expert shared his/her experiences and ideas on how to achieve the goal of raising more hepatitis awareness and get funding for more integrative care.

“These meetings are very important to help propel and catalyze change,” Dr. Gish said. “We have to work together to raise money and to help raise the standard of hepatitis care.”

Indeed, change needs to happen to address the rising rate of hepatitis in the Philippines and around the world. Hepatitis B and C are deadly diseases, with a high pr evalence rate for hepatitis B and lower but steadily increasing prevalence for hepatitis C in the Philippines. Studies show that in the Philippines there is a hepatitis B carrier rate of 9-12%, so Dr. Jose Sollano Jr. shared with the panel. This means that out of 10 people at least one is a carrier of hepatitis B. It is estimated that more than 14 million people are chronically-infected with hepatitis B, of whom between 1.1 and 1.9 million are expected to die prematurely of cirrhosis or liver cancer.

Zero discrimination in the workplace is one of the ultimate goals for hepatitis patients in the Philippines and something HSP, together with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), has worked hard to achieve. Many patients have lost the opportunity to work and support themselves because they could not get jobs because of their disease. “Discrimination is such an important issue to address,” Dr. Gish stated. “This discrimination is what prevents people from being open about the disease and thus prevents the real success of real change.”

“We recognize there is a lot of work to be done in order to get things to where they should be,” Dr. Locarnini said. “The World Hepatitis Alliance has worked hard to get the World Health Organization to move forward and develop their global hepatitis program,” he added.

He shared the proposed global axis plan to get everyone involved worldwide in real partnerships that can mobilize resources and initiate real change. This involves rising awareness, promoting partnerships, making treatment more accessible, preventing transmission, and capitalizing on vaccines available.

“The Philippines has a large population and birth cohort, but it is not meeting the vaccine targets of providing vaccine within first 24 hours of life,” Dr. Karen Hennessy of WHO, said. “That’s definitely something that needs to be addressed moving forward. We have to make the most of the good vaccine available in the fight against the disease.” This is a step that both the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) and the Philippine Pediatric Society (PPS) — both of whom were represented at the meeting — are definitely going to look into for 100-percent future compliance.