30/11/2024
*I reviewed our registers today with tears in my eyes.*😭
*4,047 people tested without cost (FREE),* between december 2022-november, 2024!
Numbers confirmed positive @30-11-2024= *406*
(Our register alone)
Aside All PHCs, private labs, Owoche and Adibe clinics that does the major works, and other facilities.
All 406 patients can't go to UCTH, Calabar. Beside, the services are not Free!
Over 90% of beneficiaries are the underserved and hard to reach communities.
Over 90% of our beneficiaries are those who can't afford even 2,000 for basic screening at the hospital.
*The numbers quoted above actually translate to our friends, members of our families* and those very dear to us. Knowingly or not.
*Looking at the reality;*
✓ Liver function test (LFT) is 19,500
✓ Abdominal Ultrasound scanning is 8,500
✓ Viral pan/DNA profiling is at least 65,000 per sample.
✓Antiretroviral medication (drugs) for 30 days is between 20,000-25,000 depending on the products.
*We wished we had started earlier,*
*HEPATITIS IS NOT WAITING FOR US!* How then do we come out of this?
Irinam, David O
Team lead,
Bekwarra Hepatitis B Support & Advocacy Initiative,
Cross River,
Nigeria.
