Battling Hepatitis in West Africa

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CDC 08-18-11

WEST AFRICA: " Battling Hepatitis in West Africa "

Inter Press Service (08.02.11):: Koffigan E. Adigbli

West African governments should take high rates of hepatitis B and C more

seriously and make treatment more affordable, experts said at a recent

international hepatitis conference in Dakar, Senegal.

“The idea is to push governments, who have committed themselves, to make

hepatitis a priority so that treatment will be accessible to all,” said Aminata

Sall Diallo, coordinator of Senegal’s national hepatitis program. “The cost is

beyond our resources. It requires a million CFA francs [about US $2,250] for a

month’s treatment; our grants are not sufficient.”

Nearly one in five Malians have hepatitis B, said Diéynaba Samaké, president of

SOS Hépatites Mali.

“Treatment for hepatitis B [in Mali] remains relatively expensive,” Samaké

said.” At 600,000 CFA [about US $1,348] per month, the cost of treatment is

equivalent to several times the monthly salary of an average Malian. There is

not, at this stage, any framework for specialized care for hepatitis B, but in

the past three years, the government has supported prevention, testing, and

treatment of hepatitis B and C.”

In Cameroon, prevalence of hepatitis B and C is 10 percent and 12 percent,

respectively, said Njoya Oudou, president of the Scientific Council of

Cameroonians Against Viral Hepatitis.

“Our network operates with its own resources to educate people, organize

refresher courses for doctors, run campaigns, and negotiate with pharmaceutical

firms,” Oudou said. “For the moment, we have only moral support from the

government.”