Cairo and Dakar: African initiatives to fight hepatitis

In December 2015 and early 2016, Comfort Foundation actively participated in two conferences on viral hepatitis in Cairo (Egypt) and Dakar (Senegal) respectively. Both initiatives had the purpose of bringing together organizations working around viral hepatitis and liver diseases on the African continent. In Cairo, the African Liver Patients Association was established of which CFG became a founding member. Damasus Suglo, Director of Comfort Foundation, in his address on behalf of the Hepatitis Coalition of Ghana, stressed on the importance of prevention of mother-to-child transmission of Hepatitis B and the need for the Hepatitis B birth dose for all children. He used the results and activities of CFG's Mother& Child Programme to illustrate this. During the discussion after his contributions it came up that some African countries are taking steps in the good direction concerning the birth dose, whilst Ghana, amongst other countries still need to do more. The African Viral Hepatitis Summit in Dakar narrowed down to the burden of hepatitis B and C on the continent and was organized with support from the World Hepatitis Alliance and Gilead. We hope these conferences in combination with the inclusion of viral hepatitis in the new Sustainable Development Goals will open the way for more collaboration and funds to fight viral hepatitis in Africa.