HONOLULU — Honolulu Hale will be lit in green from sundown, July 30 through sunrise July 31 in commemoration of World Hepatitis Day as directed by Mayor Rick Blangiardi.

Observed around the world, World Hepatitis Day is July 28. This year’s theme is “It’s time for action” as the World Health Organization notes a person dies every 30 seconds from a hepatitis-related illness.

Honolulu Hale will be lit on July 30 to align with a World Hepatitis Day event hosted by the Hawaii Health & Harm Reduction Center — “Hawaii Hepatitis Day 2024: Eliminating Hepatitis by 2030” — being held 4 to 7 p.m. July 30 at the University of Hawaii’s Biomedical Sciences Department.

The illumination of Honolulu Hale serves to remind the public to be proactive when it comes to raising awareness and using the tools available to diagnose, treat and prevent viral hepatitis.

The date for World Hepatitis Day on July 28 was selected because it’s the birthday of Nobel Prize-winning scientist Dr. Baruch Blumberg, who discovered the hepatitis B virus in 1967 and subsequently developed a diagnostic test and vaccine for the virus.