Member of Parliament for Effutu Constituency, Alexander Afenyo Markin, has committed an amount of one million cedis to support Mumbies Foundation, a non-governmental organization, to fight hepatitis B in the enclave.
Afenyo Markin made the commitment at a town hall meeting, where he said that the hepatitis B virus is on the ascendency in the constituency.
According to him, out of 2106 individuals screened for the disease, 68 pregnant women tested positive, 148 children tested positive, and 189 youth tested positive.
The project, dubbed HepaGuard, is aimed at protecting liver health, raising awareness, and making a lasting impression in the Effutu Municipality and beyond. It is solely being funded by Afenyo Markin with the aim of dealing with the widespread virus.
“Hepatitis B is a silent epidemic affecting communities in Ghana and the world, with the Effutu enclave being the recent spot. However, the HepaGuard project is set to change that narrative by embarking on the sensitization and vaccination exercise,” said Israel Adorbley, project manager of Mumbies Foundation.
The statement further indicated that Afenyo Markin has been instrumental in educating constituents about hepatitis B and has also agitated for the inclusion of the disease in the National Health Insurance Scheme to help persons who are infected.