About one and a half million people globally acquired hepatitis B in 2019 – most mother-to-child transmission – despite there being a safe and effective vaccine for the past 40 years, a white paper reveals today.
The paper, published by The World Hepatitis Alliance (WHA), found more than half of infants worldwide do not have access to the hepatitis B birth dose vaccine, with only about 6% of infants receiving the dose in Africa.
The WHA and its global network of 320 members in 100 countries will come together on July 28, which is World Hepatitis Day, to highlight the importance of testing and treatment for the people who need it.
The white paper, *Mothers and babies can’t wait – ending mother-to-child transmission of hepatitis B*, makes several policy recommendations, which, when carried out in addition to established guidelines, will ensure that prevention of mother-to-child transmission services are equitable, accessible, and available to all who need them.
WHO estimated that more than 296 million people – 3.5% of the world’s population – were living with chronic hepatitis B in 2017 and that of the infants who develop chronic hepatitis B, about 25% of them will die of liver-related complications later in life.
The white paper calls for educational programmes and training to inform pregnant woman as a prenatal standard of care; it also calls for health care professionals to have mandatory training to increase access to services and reduce hepatitis-related stigma in antenatal care, while community-based organisations should have sufficient resources to support communities and to play a role in health care systems to eliminate hepatitis.
Other recommendations include providing funding and resources to support WHO’s Triple Elimination Initiative and the implementation of known, cost-effective prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV, viral hepatitis and syphilis interventions.
Danjuma Adda, president of the World Hepatitis Alliance, said: “If we are to reach the 2030 hepatitis B elimination goals, we must address the systemic barriers to the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of hepatitis around the world and put the focus and attention on the needs of women.
“Because of gender and socioeconomic disparities, the women who are most likely to be affected by hepatitis B are often the ones least likely to have access to the healthcare needed to prevent passing it to their new-borns.”
Cary James, chief executive of the World Hepatitis Alliance, added: “Funding the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of hepatitis can help kickstart a rolling cycle of health improvement. This, in turn, will lead to greater health and quality of life for many. In this way, not only is the health of individual women improved, but that of whole communities.”
*Mothers and babies can’t wait – ending mother-to-child transmission of hepatitis B* can be downloaded from: [ www.worldhepatitisalliance.org/pmtct-report/]
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