1,110 Abuja residents benefit from Doxa Health Foundation’s free hepatitis intervention

No fewer than 1,110 residents of Mogadishu Cantonment, Asokoro, Abuja, have benefited from a free Hepatitis B and C screening and vaccination programme organised by Doxa Health Foundation.

The sustained intervention also provided treatment referrals, as part of efforts to curb the spread of the deadly but often undetected liver disease within the community.

The outreach, which ran from July 28, 2025, to January 24, 2026, covered both civilians and military personnel, providing life-saving services to hundreds of families within the cantonment.

Founder and Executive Director of the Foundation, Miss Glory Akawu, said the initiative was launched to close the gap in access to hepatitis testing and prevention, describing Hepatitis B as a “silent epidemic” in Nigeria.

“Many people are living with hepatitis without knowing it until the liver is badly damaged. Through this programme, over 1,110 people were screened, vaccinated, and guided toward treatment where necessary,” she said.

According to Akawu, the first phase of the outreach, which began on World Hepatitis Day, July 28, 2025, led to the identification of 31 residents who tested positive for hepatitis and were immediately linked to care and management.

She explained that the Foundation followed up with a second vaccination exercise on August 27, 2025, reaching over 856 beneficiaries, while the final inoculation held on January 24, 2026, ensured that 715 individuals completed the full Hepatitis B vaccination schedule.

“The joy on the faces of beneficiaries showed how much this intervention meant to them. Many families embraced the vaccination and even mobilised others to participate,” Akawu said.

She added that despite logistical and operational challenges, the outreach recorded strong community acceptance and lasting impact.

Akawu described the Mogadishu Cantonment programme as a comprehensive, phased intervention that moved beneficiaries from awareness and diagnosis to treatment linkage and full vaccination, significantly strengthening hepatitis prevention efforts within the community.