Over 355,000 Newborns to Benefit from Free Hepatitis B Vaccination
Aaron Parker The government of Sierra Leone, in collaboration with international partners, has announced a plan to administer over 457,272 doses of the Hepatitis B vaccine in 2025.
This initiative aims to provide critical protection against the disease to an estimated 355,363 newborns across the country.
This initiative is part of a broader effort to reduce Hepatitis B infections among children under five and prevent perinatal transmission of the virus.
The vaccination will be administered within 24 hours of birth and is expected to improve the coverage of other essential vaccines like BCG.
Desmond Maada Kangai, the Programme Manager for the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI), highlighted the vaccine’s 98% effectiveness in preventing Hepatitis B and related liver diseases, including cancer.
The vaccination schedule includes three doses, starting at birth, which can offer protection lasting up to 20 years or even a lifetime.
Despite the high prevalence of Hepatitis B in Africa, only 14 out of 47 African countries had introduced routine birth dose vaccinations by 2021, with just 18% of infants receiving the vaccine in 2022.
Dr. Kangai noted that increasing vaccination coverage could prevent 710,000 deaths among children born between 2020 and 2030, with 78% of these lives saved in Africa.
This campaign supports the global goal of eliminating Hepatitis B as a public health threat by 2030, as endorsed by the World Health Organization (WHO) and aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.