Taming the Silent Storm

World Hepatitis Day is an opportunity to reignite a drive towards dismantling the stigma around the disease, alongside bridging inequities and combining medicine and policy to eliminate the curable scourge

- ANIL RAJPUT

It was in 2008 that the World Hepatitis Alliance, in collaboration with patient groups, declared May 19 as the first global World Hepatitis Day. After a resolution passed at the 63^rd World Health Assembly in May 2010, World Hepatitis Day received worldwide support as the global awareness day for campaigns. It was observed from July 28, 2010 to honour the birthday of Nobel Laureate Baruch Samuel Blumberg, who discovered the hepatitis B virus in 1967, and developed a vaccine for the same.

Today, World Hepatitis Day is observed in over 100 countries. It's marked by a wide range of events—from free health screenings and poster campaigns to concerts, talk shows, flash mobs, demonstrations, and vaccination drives—all aimed at raising awareness and pushing towards the global elimination of hepatitis.

Every 30 seconds, someone somewhere in the world loses their life to a hepatitis-related illness. According to the World Health Organization report, in India, hepatitis-related diseases are a public health challenge, with 3.5 crore infections annually. Despite this serious observation, it is heartening to note that most hepatitis-related deaths or infections can be prevented with the right measures, timely diagnosis, and effective treatments. The fact is that hepatitis does not affect all communities equally—it disproportionately impacts underserved and marginalized communities. In this backdrop, it is important to counter and remove barriers that are financial, social, and systemic in nature.