World Hepatitis Day

July 28th, 2013 marked the 6th World Hepatitis Day, an annual international event to raise awareness and influence change in viral hepatitis prevention and access to testing and treatment.  World Hepatitis Day was launched in response to the concern that chronic viral hepatitis did not have the level of awareness, nor the political priority, seen with other communicable diseases such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.  In May 2010 the World Health Assembly officially resolved that World Hepatitis Day would be held annually on July 28th. The resolution, supported by all 194 member states, recognized the global impact of hepatitis B and C – two diseases that kill one million people a year worldwide and stated the need for global coordinated action to tackle viral hepatitis with dedicated resources.
To date, thousands of World Hepatitis Day events have taken place around the world, from rock concerts and press briefings to ministerial meetings and fundraising events. Last year, a World Hepatitis Day global event resulted in a new Guinness World Record for the number of people performing the ‘See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil’ pose within 24 hours, referring to the practice of dealing with problems by refusing to acknowledge them. The action, led by the World Hepatitis Alliance, highlighted the fact that viral hepatitis is being ignored around the world.  This year the World Hepatitis Alliance, the originators of World Hepatitis Day, hopes to break...

Source: Disruptive Women in Health Care - July 29, 2013 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Authors: dw at disruptivewomen.net Tags: Access Advocacy Cancer Chronic Conditions Global Health Publc Health Source Type: blogs