Despite growing awareness, many people still hold misconceptions about how hepatitis is transmitted and its effects. These false beliefs continue to fuel discrimination and fear, discouraging individuals from getting tested or seeking treatment.
Consequently, the disease often goes undiagnosed until severe complications arise.
Experts say promoting accurate information, empathy, and open dialogue can help dispel these myths, encourage care-seeking behaviour, and move Nigeria closer to eliminating hepatitis as a public health threat.
According to the World Health Organisation, hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver caused by various infectious and non-infectious agents, leading to a range of health problems, including severe liver damage and cancer, which can be fatal.
The global health body noted that there are five main strains of the hepatitis virus, designated as types A, B, C, D, and E.
“While these strains can all cause liver disease, they differ in important ways, including modes of transmission, severity of illness, geographical distribution, and prevention methods,” WHO stated.
Although Hepatitis B infection is preventable and treatable, Hepatitis C infection is now curable. Yet, over 90 per cent of those living with hepatitis B and C in Africa lack access to essential care.
“Direct-acting antiviral medicines can cure more than 95 per cent of persons with Hepatitis C infection, but access to diagnosis and treatment remains low,” the UN agency added in its July 2025 report.
According to the Nigeria HIV-AIDS Indicator and Impact Survey (NAIIS 2018), hepatitis remains a silent epidemic in Africa, including Nigeria.
“More than 90 million people are living with hepatitis in the region, accounting for 26 per cent of the global total.
“Nigeria has a prevalence rate of 8.1 per cent and 1.1 per cent for HBV and HCV among adults aged between 15 and 64 years, respectively,” the survey revealed.
It further noted that the country has over 20 million people living with hepatitis B, C, or both, yet more than 80 per cent of them do not know their status due to a poor care-seeking attitude.
Burden of hepatitis
In July 2025, PUNCH reported that Nigeria loses between N13.3tn and N17.9tn annually in direct and indirect costs due to hepatitis.
According to the report, the government disclosed that 4,252 Nigerians die each year from liver cancer caused by untreated hepatitis.
The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof Muhammad Pate, stated this during a press briefing to mark the 2025 World Hepatitis Day, themed, “Hepatitis: Let’s Break It Down.”
Pate, who was represented by the Director of Public Health in the ministry, said Nigeria bears the third-highest hepatitis burden globally, with over 20 million people infected.
“The nation faces an overwhelming burden, with over 20 million people living with Hepatitis B and C: 18.2 million are affected by Hepatitis B, and 2.5 million by Hepatitis C.
“Over 8.1 per cent of the Nigerian population is infected with Hepatitis B, and despite the availability of vaccination and treatment, over 90 per cent of those infected remain undiagnosed and unknowingly transmit the virus to others, including children,” he said.
Symptoms often misdiagnosed as malaria
Pate stressed that hepatitis symptoms are often mistaken for malaria.
“Conditions such as fever, fatigue, and malaise are typically treated with self-medication, while the virus silently damages the liver and may progress to liver failure or cancer. Tragically, 4,252 Nigerians die each year from liver cancer caused by untreated hepatitis.
“The socioeconomic cost of this epidemic is staggering; Nigeria loses between N13.3tn and N17.9tn annually in direct and indirect costs,” he added.
For public health experts, hepatitis remains a major health challenge, yet stigma, fear, discrimination, and widespread misconceptions continue to hinder efforts to prevent, diagnose, and treat the disease.
A Professor of Community Medicine at Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki, Lawrence Ogbonnaya, said many people living with hepatitis face discrimination due to myths that it only affects certain groups or results from immoral behaviour.
Ogbonnaya, an infectious disease expert, said, “Such misinformation often discourages individuals from getting tested or seeking timely medical care, leading to avoidable complications and further transmission.”
Experts have continued to stress that raising awareness about the true causes, modes of transmission, and available treatments for hepatitis remains critical to breaking barriers of stigma and discrimination associated with the disease.
“In Nigeria and other parts of the world, raising awareness about the true causes, modes of transmission, and available treatments is critical to breaking these barriers. When communities are properly informed, they are more likely to show empathy, support affected persons, and promote early detection,” Ogbonnaya further said.
He emphasised that combating stigma and myths surrounding hepatitis is essential, not only to protect public health but also to ensure that everyone feels safe and empowered to seek care when needed.
According to the Health Stigma and Discrimination Framework Research, health-related stigma remains a global barrier to health-seeking behaviour, as well as engagement in care and treatment adherence.
A 2017 World Hepatitis Alliance Civil Society Survey found that 93 per cent of civil society representatives from 72 countries reported that people living with viral hepatitis in their home countries faced some level of stigma and discrimination.
“For those living with communicable diseases, stigma is often rooted in fear, fear of infection, transmission, and societal judgment. People experiencing stigma may even internalise these beliefs, affecting their mental health and self-esteem. In some cases, stigma intersects with gender, race, or religion, creating what experts describe as intersecting stigma,” the report stated.
The survey also revealed that stigma often extends beyond individuals to their families in what is known as associative stigma.
“Unlike other infectious diseases, most people with hepatitis B were infected at birth, meaning multiple family members can be affected across generations,” it added.
Experts warn that stigma and discrimination prevent many from fully participating in society, noting that the situation becomes more damaging when formalised through laws or institutional policies, such as workplace screening procedures or denial of housing and services.
Due to these barriers, many living with hepatitis B continue to face challenges accessing health services.
To address this, the WHO has named stigma elimination through structural reforms and inclusive policies as a critical factor in achieving global hepatitis eradication.
WHO’s Global Health Sector Strategy on HIV, Viral Hepatitis, and Sexually Transmitted Infections (2022–2030) outlines targets to reduce new hepatitis infections to 520,000 annually and hepatitis-related deaths to 450,000 by 2030, representing a 90 per cent reduction in incidence and 65 per cent reduction in mortality compared to 2015.
“Without urgent and sustained action, however, viral hepatitis could cause an additional 9.5 million new infections, 2.1 million liver cancer cases, and 2.8 million deaths by 2030,” the WHO warned.
Health systems, experts say, must prioritise accurate and accessible information, link newly diagnosed patients to peer support, and implement stigma-free care environments.
