The Society for Gastroenterology and Hepatology in Nigeria has urged the Federal Government to declare a national emergency on viral hepatitis and urgently increase funding for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of liver and other gastrointestinal cancers.
The call was contained in a communiqué issued on Sunday at the end of the society’s joint international conference and Annual General Meeting, held in Abuja from August 12 to 15, 2026.
The conference was organised in collaboration with the African Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Cancer Consortium, the African Institute for Liver and Digestive Diseases and the Nigerian Cancer Society.
SOGHIN said hepato-pancreato-biliary diseases and cancers continued to place a significant health burden on Nigerians, with mortality further compounded by the high cost of specialised medical care.
“HPB diseases and cancers in Nigeria continue to cause exceptionally high mortality rates, worsened by the astronomical and prohibitive costs of specialised care,” the society said.
It also raised concerns over inadequate government funding for the screening, early detection and management of gastrointestinal and hepato-pancreato-biliary malignancies.
“There is a critical deficit—and in some tiers, a near-total absence—of government funding dedicated to the screening, early diagnosis, and management of GI and HPB malignancies,” it said.
The society particularly lamented the absence of liver transplantation services in Nigeria, noting that patients in need of the potentially life-saving procedure were compelled to travel abroad at enormous costs.
“Liver transplantation services remain entirely unavailable within Nigeria,” SOGHIN said, adding that the cost of obtaining the procedure abroad was “completely out of reach for the average citizen.”
To address the situation, the medical body called on governments at all levels to declare viral hepatitis prevention and control a national emergency.
SOGHIN described viral hepatitis as a major public health concern and the “leading driver of hepatocellular carcinoma (liver cancer) in Nigeria.”
The society also urged the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare to formally involve SOGHIN in the formulation, implementation and monitoring of national policies on viral hepatitis and digestive health.
It called for increased investment in grassroots public awareness campaigns, as well as subsidies for hepatitis B diagnostic tests and treatment. It also advocated free hepatitis B vaccination for adults.
SOGHIN further demanded increased funding for tertiary healthcare facilities to modernise diagnostic and treatment centres and expand access to advanced technologies for managing complex gastrointestinal and hepato-pancreato-biliary conditions.
The society also called for stronger collaboration among government institutions, the National Institute for Cancer Research and Treatment and international partners to fund research, train healthcare professionals and promote locally relevant advances in clinical care.
