Today, as nations observe World Hepatitis Day 2025 under the global theme “Hepatitis: Let’s Break It Down,” PLAN Foundation joins the call to confront the growing urgency of hepatitis elimination by addressing the entrenched barriers—financial, social, systemic, and cultural—that hinder millions from accessing the care they need.
The 2025 theme reflects the critical need to deconstruct the obstacles that allow hepatitis to remain a silent killer. Despite being preventable and treatable, hepatitis B and C still account for over 1.3 million deaths annually worldwide, with a disproportionate burden falling on low- and middle-income countries, including Nigeria.
“Hepatitis remains one of the most under-prioritized global health issues, particularly in communities where poverty, stigma, and lack of awareness intersect.“
This year’s theme, ‘Let’s Break It Down,’ challenges all of us to confront and eliminate the systemic neglect and structural inequalities that keep people in the dark and out of care.
What Needs to Be Done to Eliminate Hepatitis
To meet the World Health Organization’s 2030 elimination targets, urgent, multi-sectoral action is needed. The following steps are crucial:
Scale Up Awareness and Public Education
Community-driven campaigns using accessible language and culturally appropriate methods are needed to educate the public about hepatitis transmission, prevention, and treatment options.
Expand Free and Accessible Testing
Governments and partners must establish regular and accessible screening services, particularly in rural and high-risk communities. Early detection saves lives and reduces long-term healthcare costs.
Ensure Affordable and Equitable Treatment
Treatment for hepatitis B and C should be included in national health insurance schemes and made freely or affordably available to the most vulnerable populations.
Train and Equip Health Workers
Healthcare providers should be adequately trained in hepatitis care, including counseling, stigma reduction, and linkage to treatment.
Integrate Hepatitis Services into Primary Health Care
Hepatitis services must be fully embedded into existing healthcare programs such as maternal health, HIV services, immunizations, and reproductive health services.
Strengthen Data Collection and Surveillance
Investment in national and state-level data systems is essential to understand the true burden of the disease and guide resource allocation and policy formulation.
Combat Stigma and Misconceptions
Public education must address harmful myths and reduce the stigma associated with hepatitis, which often deters people from seeking care.
Foster Partnerships and Community Involvement
Efforts should include community-based organizations, affected persons, religious and traditional leaders, and youth groups to drive demand and ownership of services.
In Nigeria, hepatitis continues to claim lives due to lack of awareness, poor access to care, high out-of-pocket treatment costs, and the absence of routine screening in most healthcare settings. Vulnerable groups, including women, young people, and persons with disabilities, face even greater barriers.
Without immediate and sustained intervention, Nigeria risks falling short of the global hepatitis elimination goals. The time to act is now.
PLAN Foundation’s Role and Vision
While this year’s theme challenges the world to “break down” the barriers to hepatitis care, it aligns powerfully with the values that define PLAN Foundation. As an organization committed to equity and inclusion, PLAN Foundation envisions a world where every woman, man, and child is empowered to take control of their lives and pursue happiness, a basic and inalienable right.
Through advocacy, service delivery, research, and capacity building, PLAN Foundation works to empower communities, especially those historically left behind, to access quality healthcare, assert their rights, and build sustainable livelihoods.
Our mission encompasses health equity, and hepatitis elimination is part of our broader commitment to ensuring no one is denied healthcare because of who they are or where they live.
Call to Action
PLAN Foundation calls on all stakeholders, including governments, civil society, health professionals, development partners, and communities, to take bold, concrete steps toward hepatitis elimination. Together, we must:
- Prioritize hepatitis in health policy and funding.
- Make testing and treatment accessible and affordable for all.
- Educate the public and dispel myths.
- Engage marginalized groups and ensure inclusive programming.
Eliminating hepatitis is not just a health goal; it is a matter of justice, equity, and human dignity.
Let’s break it down. Let’s break the silence. Let’s break the barriers. Together, we can eliminate hepatitis.
PLAN Foundation is a member of the International Association of Providers of AIDS Care (IAPAC), the World Patients Alliance (WPA), the International AIDS Society (IAS), the Global Network of People Living with HIV (GNP+), the Stop TB Partnership, the International Alliance of Patients’ Organizations (IAPO), the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases (IUATLD), the Global Health Council (GHC), as well as various other relevant regional and global networks, movements, and professional associations aligned with its vision of a Nigeria where the individual, family, and community are adequately empowered to protect themselves against poverty, underdevelopment, and the spread of diseases.
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