The Ministry of Health has suggested an ambitious plan to eliminate the Hepatitis C virus (HCV) in the nation within five years.
The new initiative aims to screen about four million individuals aged 15 and above, perform viral load trials for about 230,000 individuals, and treat 112,000 chronically impacted patients.
Hepatitis C is common among 4 to 8% of Rwandan adults and is thought to be the country’s second- largest cancer contributor.
Rwanda is the first nation in sub- Saharan Africa to propose a strategy to eliminate this size, according to accessible data
The five- year plan is projected to cost $44 million (around Rwf40bn) and, according to the ministry, will concentrate primarily on investing in new techniques to allow more efficient and accessible care and innovative service delivery models to reach impacted populations.
The plan seeks to reduce the incidence of HCV from the present 4% to nearly 1.2% ; and to achieve therapy coverage of 90% for individuals aged 15 and above by 2024.
“This would require around 4,500,000 rapid tests; 400,000 viral load tests as well as around 150,000 treatment doses,” read a statement from the ministry.
80% of the $44 million will be earmarked for laboratory testing and treatment, while 20% will be earmarked for community mobilization, monitoring and assessment, staff and program coordination.
Viral hepatitis is one of the main issues influencing more than 71 million people globally in public health.
The hepatitis C virus is a bloodborne virus: exposure to tiny amounts of blood is the most prevalent mode of infection. This can occur through injection drug use, unsafe injection practices, unsafe health care, unscreened blood and blood products transfusion, and sexual practices leading to blood exposure.
A substantial amount of chronically infected individuals will develop cirrhosis or cancer of the liver.
The WHO estimated that around 399,000 individuals died of hepatitis C in 2016, mostly from cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (main cancer of the liver).
Antiviral drugs can heal more than 95% of people with hepatitis C disease, decreasing the risk of death from cirrhosis and hepatic cancer, but access to diagnosis and therapy is small.
There is presently no efficient hepatitis C vaccine ; however, study is underway in this region.
The virus of hepatitis C creates both chronic and acute infection. New infections with HCV tend to be asymptomatic. Some people develop acute hepatitis that is not life-threatening .
Approximately 30% (15– 45%) of infected people spontaneously clear the virus without any therapy within six months of infection.
The remaining 70% (55– 85%) of individuals will develop chronic infection with HCV. Of those with chronic HCV infection, within 20 years, the risk of cirrhosis varies from 15% to 30%.
Over the years, Rwanda has produced important strides in adopting steps to control HCV, including blood product screening, training and implementation of secure injection methods, and the release of the 2013 Viral Hepatitis Policy and Guidelines.
The government also performed significant price negotiations with the result that treatment costs per individual were reduced from $86,000 to $350, making therapy more available to chronic HCV patients nationwide.