The World Health Organization (WHO) is calling for significantly intensified action to eliminate viral hepatitis, a group of infections that claimed 1.34 million lives in 2024. While the organization acknowledges substantial gains against hepatitis B and C, which cause 95% of hepatitis-related deaths, it warns that current progress is insufficient to meet 2030 elimination targets.
Hepatitis B and C continue to infect millions annually, with transmission rates at 1.8 million new infections per year. These viral infections attack the liver and can lead to cirrhosis and liver cancer, particularly chronic cases. Hepatitis B spreads through infected bodily fluids, while hepatitis C is transmitted primarily through exposure to infected blood, often from unsafe injections or transfusions.
Despite significant declines in new hepatitis B infections (32%) and hepatitis C-related deaths (12%) since 2015, the WHO reports that an estimated 287 million people were living with chronic hepatitis B or C in 2024. Access to diagnosis and treatment remains critically limited for many, with fewer than 5% of those with chronic hepatitis B and only 20% of those with hepatitis C receiving treatment. The WHO African Region bears a heavy burden of new hepatitis B infections, yet newborn vaccination rates are low.
Proven solutions, including effective vaccines for hepatitis B and short-course curative therapy for hepatitis C, are available. However, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated that "eliminating hepatitis is not a pipedream," but efforts must accelerate to overcome stigma, weak health systems, and inequitable access to care. Priority actions include scaling up treatment, expanding access to birth-dose vaccination, improving injection safety, and strengthening harm reduction services. The WHO stresses the urgent need for stronger political commitment and increased financing to achieve the 2030 elimination goals.