AIDSTAR-One Success Story: Protecting Health Workers against Hepatitis B in Uganda

The campaign aimed to ensure that all health care workers are protected against the hepatitis B virus. AIDSTAR-One held intersectoral meetings and health care waste management training sessions, and supported visits with health workers to educate, sensitize, and mobilize staff on the importance of vaccination. The Uganda National Demographic and Sero-Behavioral Survey of 2006 estimated that the prevalence of blood-borne pathogens, including hepatitis B, in different regions of Uganda ranges from 8 to 19 percent. Recent data from regional blood transfusion services showed that the prevalence of hepatitis B ranges from 1.44 to 3.04 percent among screened blood donors. A sero-survey conducted among 311 health workers in Uganda in 2003 established that the overall prevalence of hepatitis B infection among health workers is 60.1 percent and that 9 percent of health workers were capable of transmitting the virus to others. To address this issue, AIDSTAR-One collaborated with the Uganda Ministry of Health to draft a statute for parliament approval mandating vaccination against hepatitis B for all health workers. The Ministry of Health also engaged senior management staff to identify potential procurement sources for the vaccine. With support from AIDSTAR-One, the Ministry of Health successfully passed a statute providing for the government-subsidized mandatory vaccination of health care workers and trainees against hepatitis B. The statute set guidelines to help reduce the risk of transmission between patients and health care workers, students, interns, and trainees. AIDSTAR-One's training efforts proved to be invaluable during the initial stages of the statute's implementation. Health care workers were very willing to receive the vaccine after being educated on the necessity of the prevention and control of hepatitis B. Some efforts began even before the Ministry of Health's free vaccination program began. The hepatitis B vaccine program's success can be attributed to several factors, including reliable epidemiological data, timely advocacy, and technical support provided by AIDSTAR-One. The program's success has been recognized by senior health officials in Uganda's government, who have thanked development partners for maintaining vaccination of health workers as a priority area on the Ministry of Health agenda. The program's success has also been attributed to the efforts of national trainers and supervisors, such as Christine Alura, who mobilized students and began vaccinations against hepatitis B in response to AIDSTAR-One's campaign.