I discovered I was Hepatitis B positive at the age of 27

Lutamaguzi Emmanuel, 27 is the executive director of the Hepatitis Aid Organization. Lutamagusi who is living positively with Hepatitis B virus got to know of his status in 2016.

He was going to travel abroad when he decided to do comprehensive tests including screening for Hepatitis B as a travel requirement.

 The results indicated that he was positive with Hepatitis B. Immediately, the doctor referred him to a private health facility to do a confirmatory test. It was costly right from the consultation fees to the tests which he could hardly afford.

Later, Lutamaguzi opened up to his friends, workmates and family member but the stigma and discrimination was too much because most of them thought the disease was simply spread by close contact with him.

At the time he also had little knowledge on Hep B Virus. So he decided to search and read about it.  From time to time he engaged different health care providers but realized there was a big knowledge gap amongst them too. One of them enrolled him on Ceptrine for 6 months but he was discontinued after a month by a colleague at Uganda Cancer Institute where his viral load was tested at a subsidized fee.

Later, Lutamaguzi met with colleagues supporting Hepatitis B elimination and was linked to facilities that offer the services for free. It was after, that he set up the Hepatitis Aid Organization.

The burden

Every 28th of July, Uganda joins the rest of the world to commemorate world hepatitis B-day.

The national prevalence of Hepatitis B is unacceptably high at 4.1% among the adult population (15 to 64) and at 0.6% among children in Uganda, according to UPHIA survey conducted in 2016.

Variations in Hep B prevalence

Hepatitis B prevalence rate is higher in the mid north region at 4.6%, followed by North East at 4.4%, and 3.8% in West Nile. The prevalence rate in East –Central stands at 2.7%, in Mid-East it stands at 2.1%, in central 2; the prevalence is at 2.0%, for Kampala; it stands at 1.9%, for Mid-West, it is at 1.8% and in Central 1, the prevalence stands at 1.6 and it is lowest in South West at 0.8%.

 Stigma still a big challenge

Stigma, lack of knowledge coupled with high costs of screening, vaccine, care and treatment are the biggest challenge that people living with Hepatitis B currently face. The irony behind is that majority of the people affected are from rural areas where access to health services is limited. Even where health services are available, the ordinary patients cannot afford.