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The viral Hepatitis B disease that causes inflammation of the liver is crippling the most productive Ugandans, according to our analysis of official government data.

Details in the Health Management Information System (HMIS), the Health ministry’s central data portal, shows that eight out of every 10 Ugandans who contracted Hepatitis B over the past five years were aged 20-59. This demographics constitutes the skilled and experienced labour force in the country, meaning those infected or killed by the disease are young adults or those in prime of their lives who double as providers for loved ones.

At roughly 10 percent, children and teenagers --- who, according to the latest census figures, constitute half of the Ugandan population – are the second least affected while only six percent of senior citizens aged 60 or older live with the disease.

Hepatitis B has killed at least 728 of 79,597 infected Ugandans from January 2020 to mid this year, an annual average fatality rate of 1 percent. The highest number of Hepatitis B patients died in the country in 2022 - some 242 - and officials could not explain the reason for the observed spike. Far fewer Ugandans succumbed to the disease in 2021, the year of Covid-19 pandemic.

It is unclear how comprehensive or accurate the national data pooled from districts’ entries are.

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