Written by Bernard Otu Assim-ita
Behind every statistic is a name. A story. A potential left unrealized.
Nigeria bears one of the heaviest burdens of viral hepatitis globally, with an estimated 20 million people living with chronic hepatitis B and C. Most remain undiagnosed, their conditions misattributed to malaria or other ailments, while the disease quietly steals health, income, and lives. The cost is staggering, not only in human suffering but in trillions of Naira lost to productivity and healthcare costs.
This is not just a public health issue. It is a development issue, a social justice issue, and above all, a human issue. This year’s World Hepatitis Day 2025, themed “Hepatitis: Let’s Break It Down,” was more than a calendar observance. It was a moment of reckoning and a reaffirmation of possibility.
Through the lens of the UNITAID-funded HEPCIII project — Innovate, Involve, Inspire: Preventing Hepatitis C through Community-Led Harm Reduction, what emerged was not just a response to a public health crisis, but a bold reimagining of what community-powered health systems can achieve.
Funded by UNITAID through Frontline AIDS, and implemented in Gombe State by Drug Free and Preventive Healthcare Organisation (DAPHO) with national oversight from Education as a Vaccine (EVA), HEPCIII is built on a simple but radical premise: those closest to the problem are central to the solution. Its model of care provides a simplified, accessible pathway for people who use and inject drugs living with hepatitis C to receive screening, linkage to care, and treatment in a stigma-free environment.
What sets HEPCIII apart, is its depth of community engagement. Prevention isn’t parachuted, it’s co-created, shaped by the lived realities of the people it seeks to serve. This three-pronged approach — innovate, involve, inspire, has become the project’s pillars.
Participants at the flag off press conference to mark the launch of Project 365 in commemoration of World Hepatitis Day 2025. Image Credit: Emelie, Blessing
On July 28 in Abuja, EVA and DAPHO joined public health advocates, government stakeholders, and development partners to mark World Hepatitis Day. This year’s observance also marked a significant policy milestone: the Federal Government’s official launch of Project 365, a year-round, nationwide campaign designed to eliminate hepatitis B and C in Nigeria by 2030.
Speaking at the ministerial press briefing, Dr. Godwin Ntadom, on behalf of Honourable Coordinating Minister Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, laid out sobering statistics: “over 90% of hepatitis cases go undiagnosed, and the virus contributes to more than 4,200 liver cancer deaths annually. Left unchecked, hepatitis costs Nigeria between ₦13.3 and ₦17.9 trillion in economic losses.” Image Credit: Emelie, Blessing
Project 365 is Nigeria’s comprehensive strategy to turn the tide. Scaling up screening, diagnosis, vaccination, and treatment, particularly in underserved communities, while supporting structural reforms such as a Viral Elimination Fund and domestic vaccine manufacturing. The initiative places hepatitis squarely on the national health agenda.
Stakeholders like WHO, Africa CDC, and UNODC hailed the launch as a critical step forward in domestic health financing and systems integration. If Project 365 represents the policy backbone of Nigeria’s hepatitis response, HEPCIII is the connective tissue bringing that vision to life at the community level.
“With Project 365, the government is not just making a declaration; it’s laying the groundwork for a future where hepatitis care is accessible, affordable, and stigma-free.”
— Dr. Adebobola Bashorun, National Coordinator, NASCP. Image Credit: Emelie, Blessing
During the two-day national campaign, the Nigeria HEPCIII program team, including leading community voices and healthcare workers, extended screening, counselling, and referral services to 227 individuals at the National Assembly Complex. These were not just numbers; they were doorways to care. Fifteen people diagnosed with hepatitis B or C were immediately linked to treatment. One hundred people who tested negative received the first dose of the hepatitis B vaccine. While others, aware but awaiting supply, now stand ready to act.
L-R. Sen. Ipalibo, looking at the HEPCIII project IEC notepad, after discussions with Mr. Aniedi Akpan, Executive director, Dapho. (The Notepad, Contains an overview of the project and highlights some milestones since the start of implementation)
A highlight of the campaign for us was the visit of Senator Dr. Ipalibo Banigo, Chair of the Senate Committee on Health, to the HEPCIII booth. The engagement provided an opportunity to showcase the project’s community-led model, establish a relationship with a key policymaker, and secure her commitment to sustain conversations that will strengthen national hepatitis elimination efforts.
Throughout the activities, HEPCIII’s presence complemented the national initiative, ensuring scalability by supporting the success of Project 365, contributing technical expertise, and bridging the gap between policy ambition and grassroots implementation.
Every test, every conversation was a defiance of stigma. Every referred case was a bridge to hope. The presence of legislators, correctional service officers, and international health partners signalled a shared understanding: elimination cannot succeed without political will, institutional alignment, and community ownership.
The campaign may have lasted only two days, but its lessons and momentum continue. What was demonstrated in Abuja and across project communities is that when community-led models are supported by institutional frameworks, the impact is transformative.
HEPCIII is not a quick fix. It is a sustained promise, that with innovation grounded in local realities, inclusion that amplifies the most unheard voices, and inspiration drawn from everyday resilience — hepatitis can be eliminated in Nigeria.
As Nigeria breaks hepatitis down, HEPCIII is helping to build the future, one community, one voice, one policy shift at a time.
Watch the activity highlight video, HERE