World Hepatitis Day observed to raise Global Awareness of Hepatitis B & Hepatitis C

The first official World Health Organization-supported World Hepatitis Day being coordinated in partnership with the World Hepatitis Alliance was observed on 28 July 2011. The theme for the World Hepatitis Day was This is hepatitis. The slogan for World hepatitis Day 2011 was Know it. Confront it. Hepatitis affects everyone, everywhere.

World Hepatitis Day was observed on 28 July 2011 to raise global awareness of hepatitis B and hepatitis C and encourage prevention, diagnosis and treatment. World Hepatitis Day serves to provide an opportunity to recognise viral hepatitis as a major global health problem in order to advance prevention and control.

The World Hepatitis Alliance and the WHO jointly agreed that the core global objectives of the World Hepatitis Day campaign are to:

•    Raise awareness and understanding of hepatitis among the general public
•    Secure continual support for World Hepatitis Day
•    Generate a sense of urgency amongst all stakeholders to prioritise action

History of World Hepatitis Day

World Hepatitis Day has been led by the World Hepatitis Alliance since 2007 and on May 2010, it got global endorsement from the World Health Organization.

The inaugural International Hepatitis C Awareness day, coordinated by various European and Middle Eastern Patient Groups, took place for the first time on 1 October 2004. The World Hepatitis Alliance was formed to unite worldwide hepatitis B and hepatitis C patient groups and bring more public and political attention to the issue of viral hepatitis in 2007.

The newly titled World Hepatitis Day was switched to May 19, and launched with the campaign slogan 'Am I Number 12?' in 2008 with input of its members (organisations from around the world working in the field of hepatitis). Am I Number 12? referred to the worldwide statistic that 1 in 12 people are living with viral hepatitis B or hepatitis C. The slogan was translated into 40 different languages for use by patient organisations worldwide and also displayed in banner form on several public landmarks.

Am I number 12 was maintained as the theme for the 2009 World Hepatitis Day.
In 2010 the third annual World Hepatitis Day was held, with a new theme of This is hepatitis. This is hepatitis gave a renewed focus to the human stories behind viral hepatitis. This is Hepatitis was retained as the theme for 2011 as well.

Following the adoption of a viral hepatitis resolution during the 63rd World Health Assembly in May 2010, World Hepatitis Day was given global endorsement as the primary focus for national and international awareness-raising efforts. The date of observance of World Hepatitis Day was changed to 28 July in honour of Nobel Laureate Prof. Blumberg who discovered the hepatitis B virus.

Hepatitis kills more than one million people every year.  Millions more suffer immediate sickness or long-term ill health.  Approximately 500 million people worldwide have either hepatitis B or hepatitis C. This represents 1 in 12 people, and was the basis for the 2008 World Hepatitis Day’s Am I Number 12? campaign. If left untreated and unmanaged, hepatitis B or C can lead to advanced liver scarring (cirrhosis) and other complications, including liver cancer or liver failure. Every year 1.5 million people die from either hepatitis B or C.