With AbbVie Pharmaceuticals as sponsors, and in conjunction with the National Committee for fighting communicable Hepatitis C, the Ministry of Health of Kuwait has launched an educational campaign on communicable Hepatitis C during a press conference highlighting the event at the Ministry of health, attended by the sponsoring patrons and organizers as well as a large number of media representing various media sectors in Kuwait.
The campaign was aimed at educating the public about contagious and communicable Hepatitis C and ways of treating and preventing it. It also aims at rectifying public misconceptions about the disease and to confirm that the medication to fight the disease is readily available and the disease can be treated provided the initiative to start the treatment exists a and visit to the government’s health departments for testing is made.
Regarding the sponsorship by AbbVie Pharmaceuticals, Mr. Ala’ Toson, President of AbbVie said, "Our sponsorship of the event represents our commitment and responsibility towards the Kuwaiti society and public entailing our responsibility to take part in educating the public about the prevention and cure." He added, "We hope that this informative campaign represents the beginning of the eradication of this contagious disease in the State of Kuwait in line with WHO (World Health Organization) objectives, which aims to eliminate this virus worldwide by the year 2030."
Mr. Toson stressed the necessity of communicating facts about the disease to the Kuwaiti community in order to create awareness and to rectify misconceptions about the disease, bringing to light that the biggest barrier between the patient and seeking the treatment lies in the fact that many patients are not aware that they have the disease.
He said, "It was time we helped change the public outlook towards communicable Hepatitis C because diagnosis is now available within minutes due to the ministry’s care to ensure the most advanced and state-of-the-art diagnosis and treatment tools available to fight contagious diseases."
President of AbbVie Mr. Ala’ Toson
To this effect, Dr. Ghalia Al-Mutairi, President of Communication Committee at MOH, said, "Educating the public about the disease is deemed a fundamental and important step in preventing communicable Hepatitis C as there has so far been no vaccination available for the virus. Also, promoting awareness about the virus, its dangers and the ways it is communicated is so important to encourage people to undergo the necessary tests and treatment until complete recovery."
He further added that, with regards to the diagnostic aspect of the disease, it has now become easily accessible and available by simple tools which only take a few minutes to obtain highly accurate results, making it possible to detect the disease. This is an integral part of our educational campaign about communicable Hepatitis C.
It is worth noting that the "Better Test Than Regret" campaign involves a number of promotional and educational functions which also include health exhibitions covering 15 basic care centers, major and main government hospitals, as well as addiction rehabilitation hospitals, prison hospitals, government institutions and commercial complexes. Educational bulletins and circulars will also be distributed.
This is in addition to giving health guidelines and information about prevention and treatment by using modern health educational means. A film to educate the public and to raise awareness about the disease has been made and will be aired and shown on the Ministry of Health’s YouTube channel, TV and displays at clinics and hospitals. Furthermore, educational messages about the disease will be communicated through the Ministry’s social media.
From the press conference
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