Challenge: protecting newborns in Africa from hepatitis B.




Newborns infected with hepatitis B virus (HBV) during birth have a 90 per cent risk of lifelong infection and risk of death from liver cancer. To protect newborns, vaccination must begin quickly, preferably within 24 hours of birth. Maternal hepatitis B screening to detect and treat infected mothers provides extra protection. In the WHO African region, fewer than one in five newborns receive timely hepatitis B vaccination. Today, globally, about two of every three new chronic HBV infections are among the children of Africa. The Coalition for Global Hepatitis Elimination and partners are working to improve vaccine coverage through education and national policy development. Gavi now supports hepatitis B vaccination for newborns. The pay-off in better health is great: vaccinating 90 per cent of newborns in Africa will prevent 500,000 deaths from hepatitis B.




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