The Member of Parliament for Effutu constituency, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, is advocating for the National Health Insurance Scheme to cover the testing and treatment of the deadly Hepatitis B.

 

In a statement on the floor of Parliament on Tuesday, the deputy Majority Leader, said almost 5 million people are said to be suffering from chronic Hepatitis B infection in Ghana.

 

He added that the cost involved in testing and treatment of the disease deterred many people especially pregnant women from conducting tests to ascertain their status and seek healthcare.

 

“Estimates suggest that the immunoglobulin intervention costs up to 1000 Ghana cedis. This is well beyond the economic power of the average pregnant woman in Ghana, meaning the risk that the underprivileged but infected pregnant women will pass on the virus to their newborns is very high.

 

“We must, therefore, double our efforts and quicken the introduction of affordable and easily accessible vaccines and drugs for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of Hepatitis B.”

 

Afenyo-Markin added that if action is taken now several compatriots can be rescued from the jaws of the virus.

 

“Ghana must take a bold decision to make viral Hepatitis B prevention, vaccination, testing and treatment part of the package of services for Universal Health Coverage (UHC) programs. In short, the NHIS should bear the cost of testing and treating Hepatitis B cases in the country.

 

“This approach is vital because most citizens, particularly pregnant women in rural communities, do not get routine, reliable and affordable access to Hepatitis B testing facilities during pregnancy.”

 

“As earlier explained, early diagnosis and treatment help suppress the virus and save lives that would otherwise have been lost in delayed diagnosis and treatment of cases. In many deprived communities, including many in Effutu, only a few people can pay for diagnosis and treatment services which are often expensive and, therefore, prohibitive.”

 

Hepatitis is a disease characterized by inflammation of the liver by the Hepatitis virus. It can be contracted through unprotected sex, saliva, semen, vaginal secretions, contaminated shared needles and syringes, and sweat according to some researchers.