Amitabh Bachchan now WHO envoy for Hepatitis

World Health Organisation (WHO) today appointed Indian movie star Amitabh Bachchan as its goodwill ambassador for Hepatitis in South-East Asia Region.

"I am absolutely committed to the cause of hepatitis. As a person living with hepatitis B, I know the pain and sufferings that hepatitis causes," Bachchan said.

"No one should ever suffer from viral hepatitis," he said at an event in Mumbai organised by WHO.

WHO expects this association to help strengthen its efforts in reducing the high numbers of premature deaths and illnesses from viral hepatitis, said Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, regional director for WHO South-East Asia.

"Hepatitis is not only causing hardships to individuals and families, but also impacting health and development across the Region," the doctor said in her statement.

Though preventable, viral hepatitis kills 4,10,000 people in the region every year, mostly people in their productive years.

As WHO goodwill ambassador for Hepatitis, Bachchan will lend his voice and support to public awareness programmes that aim to scale up preventive measures and advocate for early diagnosis and treatment of viral hepatitis to reduce the disease burden.