Minister’s Remarks on Hepatitis C Vaccine Spark Debate.

Kampala, Uganda: A controversy has erupted following an exchange between Minister Muhanga and Dr. Nicholas Kamara regarding the existence of a Hepatitis C vaccine.

During a parliamentary sitting on Wednesday, Minister of State for Primary Health Care Margaret Muhanga acknowledged the presence of Hepatitis C in Uganda.

She also revealed that Egypt had promised to provide Uganda with a vaccine for the disease.

Muhanga’s remarks were in response to concerns raised by Jesca Ababiku, the Adjumani Woman MP. Ababiku urged the Ministry to guarantee that reagents and medicines for treating Hepatitis C are available, particularly in Adjumani district.

Ababiku highlighted the challenges faced by Hepatitis C patients, including the high cost of treatment.

“We lack reagents, and samples are sent to Kampala for testing at a cost of Shs 250,000 each. Treatment doses cost between Shs1.8M to Shs 2M, making it unaffordable for many,” she said.

Margaret Muhanga stated that Egypt had found treatment options and assured that she would gather more details and give a report.

“Egypt last year promised a vaccine for Hepatitis C and actually they had and they have also found some treatment for it, and I will find the details and bring a report here. But we were already in touch with the Ministry of Health of Egypt who were helping us in the fight against Hepatitis C.” said Margaret Muhanga.

However, Nicholas Kamara (Kabale Municipality), a medical doctor by profession refuted Minister Muhanga’s claims that a vaccine for Hepatitis C is available, stating that this information is incorrect.

“The Minister of Health has said, there is a vaccine for Hepatitis C yet Hepatitis C doesn’t have a vaccine. This is wrong information, I don’t know whether we are proceeding well with the Minister, of a big Ministry of Health giving us wrong information that there is a vaccine for Hepatitis C.” said Nicholas Kamara.

Minister Muhanga responded by clarifying that she had mentioned efforts in Egypt to develop a vaccine for Hepatitis C, which is now under trial or manufacture.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Hepatitis C can cause both acute and chronic infections, with some people recovering on their own while others develop life-threatening complications.

The organization notes that while vaccines exist for hepatitis A and B, development of an HCV vaccine has been challenging due to the virus’s high variability and rapid mutation rate.

Still, antiviral medicines can cure more than 95% of persons with Hepatitis C infection, reducing the risk of death from cirrhosis and liver cancer.