5 April 2018 – Mr Abdi El Ate, a 55-year-old Egyptian man, in talking about hepatitis said, “When I knew that I had hepatitis C, I was very sad and depressed. I didn’t know that there was treatment or a cure.”

Mr Abdi El Ate described how he felt the pain in different parts of his body but tried to ignore the symptoms until finally he decided to go to a hospital in Imbaba, in Cairo, to do some blood tests. This was followed by a visit to a doctor who diagnosed his condition as liver fibrosis for which he prescribed some medicine. After this, Mr Abdi was correctly diagnosed with hepatitis C.

“After learning about treatment which was being provided free of charge, I immediately went to a governmental hospital and started taking medicines. I have been taking these medicines for 3 months and today is my last day”.

Abdi El Ate said that if you discover you have hepatitis C you should be responsible and be honest with others, in spite of perceived stigma. It's important that medical staff are aware of your condition so that they can best treat you and also protect themselves against possible infection which can be transmitted through blood.