World Hepatitis Day: Caring for Those Who Care for Others

Most people think hepatitis is a single disease. In reality, hepatitis is a general term that simply means inflammation of the liver. There are several different types of hepatitis causing viruses—including hepatitis A, B, C, D, and E. While they all affect the liver, they differ in how they spread, who they affect, and how they are prevented or treated.

This World Hepatitis Day, we're focusing on one form in particular: hepatitis B.

Hepatitis B is spread through contact with infected blood and certain body fluids. It can be passed from mother to child during birth, through unsafe medical practices, or through accidental exposure to blood. While there is a safe and highly effective vaccine, hepatitis B remains one of the world's leading infectious diseases. Over 250 million people are living with chronic hepatitis B worldwide, and hundreds of thousands die each year from liver cirrhosis or liver cancer caused by the infection.

The burden is especially high in sub-Saharan Africa, where an estimated one in every ten adults is living with chronic hepatitis B. In Sierra Leone, an estimated 18.6% of the population—1.2 million people—live with chronic hepatitis B (compared to around 0.2% in the United States). Although newborns have been vaccinated against hepatitis B since 2007, the majority of people in the country remain unvaccinated, and access to screening and treatment is severely limited. Most health workers in Sierra Leone are unvaccinated against hepatitis B, putting those who regularly come into contact with open wounds, needles, and other sources of infection at increased risk. Despite organizations like PIH leading the charge on this issue, there are no national policies in place to mandate the vaccination of health workers or ensure that vaccines are free and accessible for them. 

Suprised to hear this? So were we. Since hepatitis B vaccination became part of the routine childhood immunization schedule decades ago, most Americans have been protected since infancy. It's easy to assume that healthcare workers everywhere have the same protection.

But they don't.

Recently, the leadership at Mercy Hospital identified this gap that many of us never would have thought to ask about: they identified that the vast majority of the hospital staff members have never received the hepatitis B vaccine. Rather than accepting this as "just the way things are," they brought forward a plan to change it.

This highlights both an important challenge and a powerful example of the strong leadership emerging in Sierra Leone. For years, Helping Children Worldwide has worked to support local leadership because we believe the people closest to the challenges are also the people best equipped to identify the solutions. This vaccination campaign wasn't our idea—it was Mercy Hospital's. Their leaders recognized a preventable risk facing the people who care for patients every day and made protecting their staff a priority.

To us, that speaks volumes. Healthy healthcare workers are essential to healthy communities. When doctors, nurses, laboratory staff, and midwives are protected, they can continue serving thousands of patients with confidence and safety. Investing in the people who care for others strengthens the entire health system.

Something as small as a shot in the arm can reveal a critical gap in the healthcare system—but it can also point to a powerful leadership opportunity. When local leaders recognize these gaps and take initiative to address them, even simple solutions can become transformative for entire communities. 

This World Hepatitis Day, you have the opportunity to be part of that story.

Your donation will support Mercy Hospital's ongoing mission to provide compassionate, high-quality healthcare and to equip its leaders to respond to the greatest needs facing their community—including initiatives like protecting their healthcare workers from hepatitis B. Together, we can continue strengthening a hospital that cares not only for its patients, but also for the people who have dedicated their lives to caring for others.
​https://donate.helpingchildrenworldwide.org/campaigns/3521-mercy-hospital​