At least 16 million individuals in Nigeria are living with chronic Hepatitis B and C virus, according to the Federal Ministry of Health.
The ministry also disclosed that the discovery is sequel to a National HIV/AIDS Indicator and Impact Survey carried out in 2018.
A representative for Viral Hepatitis Control in Nigeria, Clement Adeshigbin, said this during a training organised for health workers on how to manage the disease in Taraba State.
Adeshigbin explained that viral hepatitis is a silent killer and it is now globally known to be 10 times more widespread than HIV/AIDS, hence the decentralisation of its treatment in order to control it.
Speaking further, he added that the choice of Taraba for the training is in view of the fact that the state has a high prevalence of 19 per cent with 2 million individuals living with the virus.
Adeshigbin, however insisted that the state government is committed to subsidizing the treatment for patients.
