World Hepatitis Day

World Hepatitis Day, observed on July 28 every year, aims to raise global awareness of hepatitis — a group of infectious diseases known as hepatitis A, B, C, D, and E — and encourage prevention, diagnosis and treatment. Hepatitis affects hundreds of millions of people worldwide, causing acute and chronic disease and killing close to 1.34 million people every year.[1] Hepatitis can cause inflammation of the liver both acutely and chronically, and can kill a person. In some countries hepatitis B is the most common cause of cirrhosis and may also cause liver cancer.

World Hepatitis Day
The World Hepatitis Day logo is the global symbol for encouraging better awareness, action, and support to prevent and treat viral hepatitis.
Date28 July
Next time28 July 2023 (2023-07-28)
Frequencyannual

World Hepatitis Day is one of 11 official global public health campaigns marked by the World Health Organization (WHO), along with World Health Day, World Chagas Disease Day, World Blood Donor Day, World Malaria Day, World Immunization Week, World Tuberculosis Day, World No Tobacco Day, World Patient Safety Day, World Antimicrobial Awareness Week and World AIDS Day.[2]

Background

Hepatitis groups, patients and advocates worldwide take part in events on 28 July. Notably in 2012, a Guinness World Record was created when 12,588 people from 20 countries did the Three Wise Monkeys actions on World Hepatitis Day to signify the willful ignorance of the disease.[3][4]

History

The inaugural International Hepatitis C Awareness day, coordinated by various European and Middle Eastern Patient Groups and Baby Muriel, took place on October 1, 2004.[5] However, many patient groups continued to mark 'hepatitis day' on disparate dates.[6] For this reason in 2008, the World Hepatitis Alliance in collaboration with patient groups declared May 19 the first global World Hepatitis Day.

Following the adoption of a resolution during the 63rd World Health Assembly in May 2010, World Hepatitis Day was given global endorsement as the primary focus for national and international awareness-raising efforts and the date was changed to July 28 (in honour of Nobel Laureate Baruch Samuel Blumberg, discoverer of the hepatitis B virus, who celebrates his birthday on that date). The resolution resolves that "28 July shall be designated as World Hepatitis Day in order to provide an opportunity for education and greater understanding of viral hepatitis as a global public health problem, and to stimulate the strengthening of preventive and control measures of this disease in Member States."

World Hepatitis Day is now recognised in over 100 countries each year through events such as free screenings, poster campaigns, demonstrations, concerts, talk shows, flash mobs and vaccination drives, amongst many others.[7] Each year a report is published by the WHO and the World Hepatitis Alliance detailing all the events across the world.

Themes

World Hepatitis Day provides an opportunity to focus on actions such as:[1]

  • Raising awareness of the different forms of hepatitis and how they are transmitted;
  • Strengthening prevention, screening and control of viral hepatitis and its related diseases;
  • Increasing hepatitis B vaccine coverage and integration into national immunization programmes; and
  • Coordinating a global response to hepatitis.

Each year focuses on a specific theme. The list of themes is as follows:

  • 2011: Hepatitis affects everyone, everywhere. Know it. Confront it. Confront her.
  • 2012: It's closer than you think.
  • 2013: More must be done to stop this silent killer.
  • 2014: Hepatitis: Think Again
  • 2015: Prevention of viral Hepatitis. Act now.[8]
  • 2016: Know Hepatitis-Act now.[9]
  • 2017: Eliminate Hepatities.[10]
  • 2018: Test. Treat. Hepatitis.[11]
  • 2019: Invest in eliminating hepatitis.[12]
  • 2020: Hepatitis Free Future
  • 2021: Hepatitis can't wait[3]
  • 2022: Bringing Hepatitis care closer to you

References
  1. World Health Organization, World Hepatitis Day. Accessed 8 April 2014.
  2. World Health Organization, WHO campaigns.
  3. "World Hepatitis Day 2021 [Hindi]: Theme, Significance, Quotes, Messages". S A NEWS. 2021-07-28. Retrieved 2021-07-28.
  4. "World Hepatitis Day 2021 - Hepatitis can't wait". www.who.int. Retrieved 2021-07-28.
  5. "500 Million People Await World Health Assembly Decision on Viral Hepatitis". European Liver Patients' Association.
  6. "World Hepatitis Alliance Calls on Governments to Take Urgent Action to Tackle Chronic Viral Hepatitis B & C Epidemic; 2008" (PDF). World Hepatitis Day: Home Page (Press release). World Hepatitis Alliance. Retrieved 2008-08-18.
  7. World Hepatitis Alliance, World Hepatitis Day Wrap-Up Report 2012.
  8. "World Hepatitis Day 2015 to focus on prevention". World Health organization. Archived from the original on May 10, 2015. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
  9. "About us | World Hepatitis Day". worldhepatitisday.org. Archived from the original on 2014-05-24.
  10. World Hepatities Day 2017, retrieved 30 Nov 2017
  11. "World Hepatitis Day 28 July 2018". who.int. World Health Organization. Archived from the original on July 6, 2018. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
  12. "World Hepatitis Day 2019". who.int. World Health Organization. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
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