1. Background

World Hepatitis Day (WHD), commemorated annually on 28 July, serves as a global call to action to eliminate viral hepatitis as a public health threat. In alignment with the 2025 theme, ” Lets break it down”, Jeneso Development Initiative (JDI) organized community-focused awareness and screening activities in Yola the capital of Adamawa State. These activities targeted both young people and adults, with a focus on early detection, prevention, and stigma reduction.

2. Objectives

– To increase awareness of hepatitis B among school children, parents, and community members.

– To provide free hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) screening to promote early detection.

– To strengthen collaboration with government and health partners for hepatitis control efforts.

3. Activities Implemented

1. Advocacy

JDI embarked on an advocacy visit demanding for the adoption of world hepatitis day into the state government calendar using letter obtained from African hepatitis B African Advocacy coalition (ABAC). The letter was printed and submitted to the Adamawa state commissioner for health and humanity service and speaker Adamawa state house of assembly. the letter has sparked a positive response within the ministry, however, during deliberation seeking the ministry to set aside funds to support future celebration the director of health informed us that budget had already be prepared however, they will have that in mind and encouraged us to keep pushing the fight against viral hepatitis. a press conference was held within the ministry in company of who, ani and other several actors as well as media. the advocacy effort had JDI in forefront of the world hepatitis day celebration preparation and implementation.

1. Radio talk show

JDI conducted a radio talk show on hepatitis B was Usaku radio Yola on 28^th targeting stigma reduction. the talk show was held in Hausa the most common language spoken across the state.

1. School Sensitization & Screening

JDI conducted health talks and sensitization sessions at Limawa Primary School and LCCN Academy, Kofare. at LCCN Academy, teachers, parents and pupils were educated on hepatitis transmission, prevention, and the importance of testing. Free HBsAg screening was offered on-site for adults and pupils whose parents were physically present even though a general consent form was signed by school headmaster and parent teacher association chairperson. At Limawa the target population was senior secondary school students. similarly, sensitization and free screening was conducted for teachers and students 18 and above. however, based on a later rescheduled plan along with the state ministry of health, students were informed to encourage their friends and family to come for their free screening at the Limawa Primary Health Care Facility.

1. Health Facility-Based Screening

In collaboration with the Adamawa State Ministry of Health the free screening exercise was extended to Limawa Primary Health Care (PHC) Facility, in order to support the people of Limawa community. Another sensitization and screening event was held at Lutheran Church of Christ in Nigeria Academy Kofare. In each case, sensitization, free screening and one on one counseling was conducted for participants.

4. Screening Results (Limawa/Kofare community)

– A total of 373 individuals were screened for hepatitis B at Lutheran Church of Christ in Nigeria Academy Kofare and Limawa community (Secondary school and Primary Health Care), with 16 positives cases identified and referred for further evaluation.

– Strengthened the State Ministry of Health, commitment towards World Hepatitis Day commemoration.

– Improved awareness among pupils, parents, and health facility attendees on hepatitis prevention and care.

6. Pending Activity

As part of the activities scheduled for the world hepatitis day included distribution of TDF to ten (10) positive cases. drugs have been procured but we are still waiting for the participants to provide their hepatitis B profile result. However, the incidence of flood which occur within the state including the area of the activity have slowdown this process. due to limited funds from participants end to carry out the profiling.

7. Challenges

Lack of vaccines to be administered to negative cases. The unavailability of vaccines within the state prior to the activity even in government facilities was a major setback as some individuals were reluctant to get tested since the screening is said to be repeated after two weeks window period without getting vaccination

8. Lessons Learned

– School-based interventions are an effective entry point for reaching both children and parents.

– Collaboration with local health facilities boosts screening coverage and follow-up care.

– Radio campaign is an effective means of reaching large audience, therefore, a radio series using local language will be an effective means of viral hepatitis education and stigmatization elimination as people were seeking to know more on viral hepatitis.

– Financial transaction details should always be validated prior initiation of transaction

9. Recommendations & Way Forward

– Scale up the screening to more schools and communities in subsequent WHD events.

– Advocate for the integration hepatitis education into routine school health programs.

– Continue advocacy for other government sectors like State Ministry of Education to adopt world hepatitis day will boost awareness among student and the general public and show how important the fight is.

10. Conclusion

The 2025 WHD activities by Jeneso Development Initiative demonstrated the power of community-based approaches to hepatitis awareness and testing. Early detection, especially among young adults, remains vital to not only reducing the burden of viral hepatitis but also of stigmatization among the people of Adamawa State.