On World Hepatitis Awareness Day, the Ministry of Public Health announced an increase in the capacity to diagnose this disease in the country.

Abdul Wali Haqqani, Deputy Minister of Public Health, provided statistics indicating that 15,000 people were infected with this disease across the country last year.

He called on international organizations to cooperate with them in fighting this disease.

The Deputy Minister of Public Health said: "Last year in Afghanistan, nearly fifteen thousand cases were reported due to this disease, of which 12,000 were registered with Hepatitis B and 1,300 with Hepatitis C. There are no exact figures in Afghanistan; however, based on our reports, the numbers have decreased."

Sharif Ahmad Habib, the Head of the National Program for the Control of AIDS, Jaundice, and STDs said that the capacity to diagnose jaundice in the country has increased, and in the past six months, more than two million people have been diagnosed with this disease.

Habib also added that efforts to establish more diagnostic and treatment centers across the country are ongoing.

The head of the National Program for the Control of AIDS, Jaundice, and STDs said: "With the cooperation of the World Health Organization, we have treated nearly 5,000 people, and currently, 500 patients are under treatment and will recover soon."

At the same time, the representative of the World Health Organization at a meeting held on the occasion of this day, said that anti-jaundice drugs were provided to three thousand people last year.

He also pledged more assistance from this organization in the fight against this disease to the Ministry of Public Health.

Naeemullah Safi, the representative of the World Health Organization, said: "The World Health Organization, as in other areas, also assists the Ministry of Public Health in controlling and preventing hepatitis. In addition, we strive to help in the equitable distribution of vaccines and anti-hepatitis drugs."

According to the statistics provided by the Deputy Minister of Public Health, more than three hundred million people worldwide are infected with jaundice.