WHO Flags Slow Hepatitis Progress Toward 2030 Elimination

Overview

• The new Global hepatitis report, released at the World Hepatitis Summit, finds measurable gains since 2015, including 32% fewer new hepatitis B infections and a 12% drop in hepatitis C deaths.
• Hepatitis B and C caused 1.34 million deaths in 2024, transmission continues at about 4,900 new infections each day, and 287 million people are living with chronic infection.
• Treatment coverage remains low, with fewer than 5% of people with chronic hepatitis B receiving therapy and only 20% of those eligible for hepatitis C treated since 2015.
• The African Region accounts for 68% of new hepatitis B infections, while only 17% of newborns there receive the time‑critical birth‑dose vaccine that prevents early-life infection.
• WHO calls for more hepatitis B treatment in Africa and the Western Pacific, wider access to curative hepatitis C drugs in the Eastern Mediterranean, better birth‑dose coverage and antiviral prophylaxis for mothers and babies, and stronger injection safety and harm reduction.