Cape Argus E-dition

Global health experts meet in Cape Town for liver disease conference

SHAKIRAH THEBUS shakirah.thebus@inl.co.za

THE Conference on Liver Disease in Africa (Colda) 2022 has announced it will establish the Society on Liver Disease in Africa (Solda) during the start of its three-day conference in Cape Town.

Colda 2022 saw delegates and speakers from across 42 countries converge both in person and virtually for the fifth conference on the African continent focused entirely on liver disease.

After two years of meeting virtually, around 170 attendees gathered at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Cape Town – Upper Eastside, yesterday.

Colda 2022 is aimed at empowering healthcare professionals to diagnose, prevent, treat and achieve a cure for liver diseases for patients in Africa.

Topics covered included hepatitis elimination, the challenges of hepatobiliary surgeries in sub-Saharan Africa, and the management of end-stage liver disease – real life challenges, among others.

AU Development Agency – New Partnerships for Africa’s Development (Auda-Nepad) Head of Health programme Margareth Ndomondo-Sigonda said reaching the World Health Organisation (WHO) 2030 Vision for the Elimination of Viral Hepatitis has remained a significant problem for the WHO Africa region.

“The main target of hepatitis elimination is to reduce the incidence of Hepatitis B virus and Hepatitis C virus by 90% and mortality rate by 65% in 2030.

“It is also estimated that 82 million of Africa’s populations are Hepatitis B virus-infected but only 2% have been diagnosed and only 0.1% have been treated,” she said.

Agnes Binagwaho from the University of Global Health Equity, Rwanda, said the risk of death from viral hepatitis in Africa is increasing more than the risk of death from HIV/Aids, malaria and tuberculosis.

Africa sees around 200 000 deaths a year from liver-related diseases. Hepatitis prevention guidelines are challenged due to: Only 80% of blood donations are screened with quality assurances; 5% of syringes are reused; and only 6 syringes distributed per injecting drug user compared to the global target of 200.

Binagwaho said over 90% of people affected by Hepatitis B and C in Africa lack much-needed care, with fewer than 1 in 10 people in Africa have access to testing and treatment.

METRO

en-za

2022-09-30T07:00:00.0000000Z

2022-09-30T07:00:00.0000000Z

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