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NNWN/ New Delhi, 2017-05-12

Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan was appointed WHO goodwill ambassador on Finday for creating Hepatitis awareness programme in south east Asia region. Bachchan who himself is  a Hepatitis B conqueror, said that nobody should suffer from the disease.Bachchan who had earlier served as Unicef Goodwill Ambassador for the polio eradication campaign in India, has been brought on the WHO board to boost awareness and intensify action to arrest the Hepatitis epidemic, the World Health Organisation (WHO) announced in a statement. "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. No one should ever suffer from viral Hepatitis," Amitabh said.

As goodwill ambassador, the veteran actor 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. Speaking about the association with the Bollywood actor WHO, Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Regional Director for WHO southeast Asia, said: "This association is expected to help strengthen WHO's efforts in reducing the high numbers of premature deaths and illnesses from viral Hepatitis which is not only causing hardships to individuals and families, but also impacting health and development across the region."

In a video message, Union Health Minister JP Nadda said: "Mr Bachchan's voice is one that is listened to by people across the country, regardless of cultural, social or economic background and can make real change possible. We have witnessed this in polio eradication."Bachchan has been supporting and promoting various health and related issues in the country such as childhood immunisation programme, anti-tuberculosis campaign and Clean india initiative.