THE NEED
According to WHO, around 4 out of every 100 Indians are infected with Hepatitis B, amounting to 40 million infected persons in India. Over 10 million Indians (about 1% of the population) are carrying the Hepatitis C virus infection. Most are blissfully unaware as the virus produces few symptoms for long periods. By the time symptoms of liver disease appear, the disease is often found to be advanced. Hep-B & C are amongst the leading causes of liver failure & liver cancer. Liver disease is now the 12th leading cause of death. This is in spite of the disease being preventable & is largely due to lack of awareness. The health impact of Hep-B & C is atleast 10 times that of HIV while awareness about & funding for them is lagging far behind that of AIDS.
SOLUTION
Sehat works to increase awareness of Hep-B & C amongst high risk groups such as people who inject drugs, sexual minorities, female sex workers, single male migrants & truck drivers. These groups that have remained on the peripheries of public health systems, often losing out on health access because of the stigma faced by them. As a result, they fall prey to preventable diseases, are at high risk for developing co-morbidities & suffer loss of life and livelihood.
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