The World Health Organization (WHO) has reaffirmed its goal of eliminating viral hepatitis as a public health threat by the year 2030, calling for stronger global action, better funding, and improved access to treatment.
The health body said that while countries have made some progress in reducing infections and deaths, hepatitis still remains a major global health problem that requires urgent and sustained efforts.
This was contained in a statement released on Tuesday during the World Hepatitis Summit, where WHO presented new global data on the disease.
According to the report, hepatitis B and C were responsible for about 1.34 million deaths worldwide in 2024. It also revealed that the disease continues to spread, with more than 4,900 new infections recorded every day—about 1.8 million new cases each year.
WHO noted that since 2015, there have been some improvements, including a 32% reduction in new hepatitis B infections and a 12% drop in hepatitis C-related deaths. It also highlighted progress in childhood vaccination programmes in several regions.
The report added that hepatitis B infection among children under five has now fallen to 0.6%, while 85 countries have already met or gone beyond the 2030 target of reducing it to 0.1%.
Despite these gains, WHO warned that progress is still too slow and uneven across countries, making it difficult to meet global elimination targets on time. It called for more investment in prevention, wider testing, and improved access to treatment.
WHO Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said eliminating hepatitis is possible, but only if governments show strong political commitment and provide reliable funding.
He explained that many people are still not diagnosed or treated due to stigma, weak healthcare systems, and unequal access to medical services.
Updated figures show that about 287 million people were living with chronic hepatitis B or C in 2024. The report also recorded 0.9 million new hepatitis B infections, with the Africa accounting for about 68% of these cases.
WHO further revealed that only 17% of newborns in Africa receive the hepatitis B vaccine at birth, while hepatitis C infections—estimated at 0.9 million cases—are often linked to unsafe medical practices and poor harm-reduction services.
The organisation stressed that despite the availability of effective vaccines and treatments, including a cure for hepatitis C with over 95% success rate, access remains very limited. It said fewer than 5% of hepatitis B patients receive treatment globally, while only about 20% of infected people are currently receiving care.