The Missing Piece in the Fight Against Hepatitis: Awareness

This article was exclusively written for The European Sting by Ms. Marcia de Oliveira Baldoino, a 21-year-old medical student at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin. She is affiliated with the International Federation of Medical Students Associations (IFMSA), cordial partner of The Sting. The opinions expressed in this piece belong strictly to the writer and do not necessarily reflect IFMSA’s view on the topic, nor The European Sting’s one.

Before starting medical school, I rarely heard anyone talk about hepatitis. We grow up learning about HIV, cancer, diabetes, and heart disease, yet hepatitis, despite affecting hundreds of millions of people worldwide, often remains absent from public conversations. Ironically, while medicine has made enormous progress in preventing and treating viral hepatitis, public awareness has not kept pace.

As a medical student in Germany, I have learned that hepatitis is not a single disease. Hepatitis B can be prevented through vaccination, and hepatitis C can now be cured in most cases. Both can be detected through simple testing. Looking at these advances, it would be easy to assume that hepatitis is no longer a major challenge. Unfortunately, that is far from reality.

Germany is a good example. Even with effective vaccines, modern treatments, and nationwide screening programs, many people remain unaware of their own risk and the preventive measures available. Chronic hepatitis infections often develop silently over many years, meaning that some people are only diagnosed once irreversible liver damage has already occurred. Medical innovation alone cannot solve this problem if people do not know when to get tested or where to find reliable information.

This is where students can make a real difference.

Medical students often underestimate the impact they can already have. We may not yet prescribe medication or make diagnoses independently, but we can communicate. Whether by explaining the difference between hepatitis viruses in language people understand, encouraging friends and family to check their vaccination status, organizing awareness campaigns at universities, participating in outreach projects, or using social media to counter misinformation, we can already make a meaningful contribution.

Perhaps that is part of the reason hepatitis remains largely absent from public conversation. It is not only a medical challenge but also a communication challenge. While many other conditions have become part of public discourse through awareness campaigns and open conversations, hepatitis often remains invisible. Changing that starts with making hepatitis part of everyday conversations rather than keeping it confined to healthcare settings.

At the same time, awareness should never become blame. Hepatitis can affect anyone, and prevention only works when education is supported by inclusive healthcare, confidential testing, and equitable access to preventive and medical care. Raising awareness is therefore not about telling people what they should have done differently; it is about ensuring that everyone has the knowledge and opportunity to protect their health.

Germany reminds us that progress alone is not enough. Its impact depends on whether it reaches those who need it. As future healthcare professionals, we should not wait until graduation to contribute. Sometimes, the first step toward preventing disease is simply starting a conversation.

About the author

Marcia de Oliveira Baldoino is a 21-year-old medical student at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, currently in her third year, with a strong interest in public health. She leads the 2026 Youth Side Program, an international youth initiative held in the lead-up to the World Health Summit, bringing together young people from around the world to exchange ideas and collaborate on global health challenges. From October 2026, she will serve as the National Public Health Officer of the German Medical Students’ Association (bvmd). Passionate about health education, advocacy, and community engagement, she is committed to advancing health equity through collaboration.