e-News® | The NEWS Company…DHAKA, July 27, 2015 : The World Hepatitis Day will be observed tomorrow in Bangladesh and elsewhere in the world for increasing awareness against the deadly virus, which affects around 500 million people globally in a year, as the World Health Organisation (WHO) estimated.
Ascertained by the WHO, the day is observed every year on 28th July since 2010 to raise awareness on different forms of hepatitis and various methods of prevention and treatment. This year the theme of the day is “Prevent hepatitis. Act now”, which focuses different types of hepatitis virus: what they are and how they are transmitted; who is at risk; and the various methods of prevention and treatment.
President M Abdul Hamid, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Health and Family Welfare affairs minister Mohammad Nasim, in separate messages, appreciated the observance of the day in Bangladesh. In his message, President M Abdul Hamid said the number of liver patients is increasing in our country for lack of knowledge about prevention. Liver is an important organ of human body, so people should be more aware to take care of it, he said adding the observance of the day will help increasing awareness among people.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in her message urged the government and non government organizations to increase awareness of the different forms of hepatitis, and how they can be prevented and treated. She said the government is always sincere to reach the updated healthcare facilities at the door steps of every people. “The government is giving more attention in health sector so that the poor people can get modern treatment,” she said.
Health minister in his message said, only by increasing awareness of the different forms of hepatitis and how they can be prevented and treated, we can take the first step towards full control of the disease and save thousands of lives.
The President, Prime Minister and Health Minister wished all success of the day and hoped that the initiative would help raise awareness among people on the deadly disease. In Bangladesh, different organisations have chalked out various programmes to mark the day. The programmes include seminar, rally and health campaigns.
The National Liver Foundation of Bangladesh (NLFB) will bring out a rally tomorrow from Shaheed Minar area and organise a roundtable meeting at the Daily Star auditorium at 11 am where the country’s eminent liver experts will participate. Newspapers will publish special articles while televisions and radio will air programmes highlighting significance of the day.
“Viral hepatitis – a group of infectious diseases known as hepatitis A, B, C, D, and E – affects hundreds of millions of people worldwide, causing acute and chronic liver disease and killing close to 1.5 million people every year, mostly from hepatitis B and C. These infections can be prevented, but most people don’t know how,” Professor Mohammad Ali, Secretary General of the NLFB told the news agency.
