Chief adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus on Sunday called upon all government and non-government institutions and organisations, media, guardians and conscious civil society to come forward in preventing the silent killer hepatitis.
In a message on the eve of World Hepatitis Day, to be observed on Monday, he said that the theme of the day that year 鈥楲et鈥檚 break it down鈥� was significant in achieving the goal of eliminating hepatitis.
Professor Yunus said that liver diseases in Bangladesh were becoming serious day by day due to ignorance about the diseases as well as not receiving timely treatment and various existing superstitions.
According to reports from various national and international organisations, about 4.4 per cent of the population of Bangladesh is infected with hepatitis-B and 0.6 per cent with hepatitis-C virus, he said.
The chief adviser said that every year, many people in the country suffered from hepatitis, liver were losing their lives due to complex diseases like cirrhosis, liver cancer and liver failure.
鈥楬opefully, these diseases can be prevented and healthy and long lives can be lived through awareness and timely and proper treatment,鈥� he added.
Yunus said that the interim government was committed to sustainable reforms in the health sector to deliver affordable and quality healthcare to the people鈥檚 doorsteps.
He said that the government had taken initiatives to increase the quality and capacity of hospitals across the country and strengthen the provision of free health, family welfare and nutrition services to the marginalised population.
鈥楳edical services have been launched at the district and upazila levels through mobile phones and online platforms,鈥� he said; adding that the government had already taken various programmes to implement the goal of eliminating hepatitis worldwide by 2030.
H said that there was no alternative to the concerted efforts of everyone to achieve the goal.
The chief adviser wished the overall success of all programmes organised on the occasion of 鈥榃orld Hepatitis Day-2025鈥�.
