The World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday warned that global efforts to eliminate hepatitis are lagging, despite the availability of effective tools to prevent and treat the disease, which kills over one million people each year.
According to the WHO, viral hepatitis B and C — responsible for 95% of hepatitis-related deaths — claimed 1.34 million lives in 2024, while more than 1.8 million new infections continue to occur annually.
“Progress is too slow and uneven,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, pointing to widespread gaps in diagnosis and treatment due to stigma, weak health systems and unequal access to care. He stressed that scaling up prevention, testing and treatment is urgently needed.
Hepatitis, an inflammation of the liver caused by infectious viruses and other factors, can lead to severe complications including liver failure and cancer. Among its five main strains, hepatitis B and C are the deadliest.
In its Global Hepatitis Report 2026, the WHO estimated that 287 million people were living with chronic hepatitis B or C in 2024. Of the 240 million people with hepatitis B, fewer than 5% are receiving treatment, while only 20% of hepatitis C patients have been treated since 2015. In Africa — the region hardest hit by hepatitis B — just 17% of newborns received the crucial birth-dose vaccine last year.
Preventable deaths
Six countries — China, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, South Africa and Vietnam — account for a large share of hepatitis-related deaths globally.
“Every missed diagnosis and untreated infection represents a preventable death,” said Tereza Kasaeva.
The WHO emphasized that proven solutions already exist. The hepatitis B vaccine offers over 95% protection, long-term antiviral therapy can control chronic infections, and short-course treatments for hepatitis C can cure more than 95% of cases within 8–12 weeks.
Countries such as Britain, Egypt, Georgia and Rwanda have demonstrated that eliminating hepatitis as a public health threat is achievable.
“Eliminating hepatitis is not a pipe dream,” Tedros said, urging sustained political commitment and reliable funding.
While progress has been made since 2015 — with new hepatitis B infections down 32% and hepatitis C-related deaths falling 12% — the WHO warned that the pace remains far too slow to meet global targets.
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