Published on: 2026-04-28
Source: United Nations – United Nations –
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Global efforts to combat viral hepatitis are yielding tangible results – the number of new infections and fatal cases is significantly decreasing. However, the disease still remains one of the most serious health threats to populations worldwide. This is stated in a new report by the World Health Organization (WHO), presented on Monday at the World Summit on Hepatitis.
Spread of infection
According to WHO data, viral hepatitis B and C, which account for 95 percent of all deaths related to hepatitis, claimed 1.34 million lives in 2024. Meanwhile, the transmission of infection continues – more than 4,900 new cases of infection are registered daily, or 1.8 million per year.
Significant progress
The new report notes significant progress since 2015. The number of new hepatitis B cases has decreased by 32 percent, and mortality from hepatitis C has dropped by 12 percent. This progress has been made possible thanks to joint work at the global and national levels after WHO member states in 2016 approved targets for the elimination of viral hepatitis. At the same time, the organization warns that current rates are not sufficient to achieve all set goals by 2030. It is necessary to accelerate measures for prevention, testing, and treatment.
Goal – elimination of hepatitis
“Countries around the world prove that the elimination of hepatitis is not an unattainable dream, but a real goal given political will and financing,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus. However, according to him, progress remains too slow and uneven, and millions of people still do not get diagnosed or receive necessary treatment due to stigmatization, insufficient effectiveness of healthcare systems, and unequal access to medical care.
Situation in different countries
So, despite the progress made, limited access to prevention and medical care still leads to high mortality rates. In 2024, it is estimated that about one million people died from hepatitis B, and 240 thousand from hepatitis C. The main causes of death remain liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Particularly high mortality rates from hepatitis B have been recorded in a number of countries.So, Bangladesh, China, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, the Philippines, South Africa, and Vietnam accounted for 69 percent of all deaths from hepatitis B worldwide in 2024. At the same time, mortality from hepatitis C is spread more widely geographically: 58 percent of all cases occurred in China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Russian Federation, South Africa, the United States of America, and Vietnam.
Despite the challenges faced, the successes of Egypt, Georgia, Rwanda, and the United Kingdom show that the elimination of hepatitis as a public health threat is possible with political will and investment. Effective tools already exist for this.
Effective tools
So, the vaccine against hepatitis B provides more than 95-percent protection, and modern drugs allow controlling chronic hepatitis B and curing more than 95 percent of hepatitis C cases.
In the VOA, they call to accelerate the integration of hepatitis prevention, diagnosis, and treatment into the primary healthcare system, expand newborn vaccination coverage, and strengthen harm reduction programs for people who use injectable drugs.
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