{"id":11642,"date":"2026-05-05T12:20:54","date_gmt":"2026-05-05T12:20:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rxdatainsights.com\/?p=11642"},"modified":"2026-05-05T12:31:51","modified_gmt":"2026-05-05T12:31:51","slug":"why-africas-new-hepatitis-roadmap-will-save-millions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rxdatainsights.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/05\/why-africas-new-hepatitis-roadmap-will-save-millions\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Africa\u2019s New Hepatitis Roadmap Will Save Millions"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\tAround the world, countries are showing that eliminating hepatitis is not a pipedream, it's possible with sustained political commitment, backed by reliable domestic financing.\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus<\/cite>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/blockquote>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Global health leaders agree that <\/span>eliminating viral hepatitis<\/span><\/i><\/b> is achievable,<\/span><\/i><\/b> but the clock is ticking. The World Health Organization\u2019s 2026 Global Hepatitis Report shows measurable progress since 2015 while sounding a clear alarm: <\/span>current momentum is not enough to meet the 2030 elimination targets.<\/span><\/i><\/b> In 2024, viral hepatitis B and C were responsible for <\/span>1.34 million deaths worldwide<\/span><\/i><\/b>,<\/span><\/i><\/b> and transmission continues at an alarming pace with <\/span>more than 4,900 new infections every day<\/span><\/i><\/b>\u2014about <\/span><\/i><\/b>1.8 million new infections each year<\/span><\/i><\/b>. <\/span><\/i><\/b>These figures make hepatitis one of the most urgent, yet solvable, public health crises of our time. <\/span><\/p>\n

The report highlights important wins that prove <\/span>elimination is possible. <\/span><\/i><\/b>Since 2015, <\/span>the <\/span><\/i><\/b>annual number of new hepatitis B infections has fallen by 32%<\/span><\/i><\/b>, and <\/span><\/i><\/b>hepatitis C\u2013related deaths have declined by 12%<\/span><\/i><\/b>. <\/span>Hepatitis B prevalence among children under five has dropped to <\/span><\/i><\/b>0.6%<\/span><\/i><\/b>, and <\/span><\/i><\/b>85 countries<\/span><\/i><\/b> have reached or exceeded the 2030 target of <\/span><\/i><\/b>0.1%<\/span><\/i><\/b> prevalence in this age group. These gains reflect the power of sustained political commitment, strong vaccination programs, and targeted national strategies. Yet the progress is uneven: many regions, especially in Africa, still face major gaps in prevention, testing, and treatment.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span>At the same time, WHO experts warn that <\/span>stigma, weak health systems, and inequitable access<\/span><\/i><\/b> leave millions undiagnosed and untreated<\/span><\/i><\/b>\u2014turning preventable infections into preventable deaths. <\/span>The burden is concentrated and actionable. Updated WHO estimates show <\/span>287 million people living with chronic hepatitis B or C in 2024<\/span><\/i><\/b>. <\/span><\/i><\/b>Of these, <\/span>240 million<\/span> had chronic hepatitis B, yet <\/span>fewer than 5%<\/span> were receiving treatment. <\/span><\/p>\n

Hepatitis C treatment has been transformative since 2015\u2014short-course therapies can cure more than <\/span>95%<\/span> of infections\u2014but only <\/span>20%<\/span> <\/span>of people with hepatitis C have been treated since those cures became widely available. The African Region accounted for <\/span>68% of new hepatitis B infections<\/span> in 2024, while only <\/span>17% of newborns in the region received the hepatitis B birth-dose vaccine<\/span><\/i><\/b>, <\/span><\/i><\/b>a critical missed opportunity to prevent mother-to-child transmission.<\/span><\/p>\n

A small number of countries account for a large share of deaths. Ten countries\u2014<\/span>Bangladesh, China, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, the Philippines, South Africa, and Viet Nam<\/span>\u2014were responsible for <\/span>69% of hepatitis B\u2013related deaths<\/span> in 2024. Hepatitis C deaths are more geographically dispersed, but ten countries including<\/span> <\/span>China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Russian Federation, South Africa, the United States, and Viet Nam<\/span> accounted for <\/span>58%<\/span><\/i><\/b> of global hepatitis C deaths. <\/span><\/i><\/b>These concentrated patterns mean targeted national strategies can yield outsized global impact. <\/span><\/p>\n


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Dr Tereza Kasaeva, Director of WHO\u2019s Department for HIV, TB, Hepatitis and Sexually Transmitted Infections<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Proven, high-impact tools already exist and must be scaled without delay.\u00a0<\/span>The\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/span>hepatitis B vaccine<\/span><\/i><\/span>\u00a0protects more than\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/span>95%<\/span><\/i><\/span>\u00a0of vaccinated people against acute and chronic infection.<\/span><\/i><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Long-term antiviral therapy<\/span>\u00a0for hepatitis B can prevent severe liver disease, and\u00a0<\/span>8\u201312 week curative therapies<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>for hepatitis C can eliminate infection in the vast majority of patients. Countries that have moved quickly\u2014such as\u00a0<\/span>Egypt, Georgia, Rwanda, and the United Kingdom<\/span>\u2014demonstrate that elimination is feasible when political will, financing, and health system integration align.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

To accelerate progress and close existing gaps, the WHO report outlines a set of priority actions that must be implemented at scale. These recommendations are practical, evidence-based, and designed to deliver the greatest impact in high-burden regions. A key focus is the urgent need to scale up treatment for chronic hepatitis B, particularly in Africa and the Western Pacific where both prevalence and mortality remain highest. At the same time, expanding access to hepatitis C treatment is critical in regions experiencing rising incidence and limited treatment coverage.<\/span><\/p>

The report also emphasizes improving hepatitis B birth-dose vaccination by ensuring that newborns receive the vaccine within 24 hours of birth, <\/span><\/i><\/b>a crucial step in preventing mother-to-child transmission. In parallel, strengthening harm reduction services and ensuring safe injection practices are essential to reduce transmission among people who inject drugs as well as within healthcare settings. Finally, integrating hepatitis services into primary healthcare systems is highlighted as a key strategy, making testing, diagnosis, and treatment a routine part of maternal and child health services, HIV programs, and general outpatient care.<\/span><\/p>

Addressing hepatitis requires both <\/span>national leadership<\/span>\u00a0and <\/span>community-centered approaches<\/span>. Governments must commit domestic financing and policy support; health systems must adopt simplified testing and treatment algorithms; and communities must be engaged to reduce stigma and improve uptake of services. As Dr Tereza Kasaeva, Director of WHO\u2019s Department for HIV, TB, Hepatitis and Sexually Transmitted Infections, emphasized: <\/span>\u201c<\/span><\/i><\/b>Every missed diagnosis and untreated infection due to chronic viral hepatitis represents a preventable death.<\/span><\/i><\/b>\u201d <\/span><\/i><\/b>That stark reality should drive urgency and action at every level. <\/span><\/p>

The path to 2030 is clear: <\/span>scale what works, close the gaps, and prioritize equity<\/span><\/i><\/b>.<\/span><\/i><\/b>\u00a0Countries must expand birth-dose vaccination, integrate hepatitis services into primary care, fund treatment programs, and strengthen harm reduction and injection safety. Civil society and affected communities must be empowered to demand services and reduce stigma. Donors and global health institutions must align financing and technical support to the highest-burden settings. When these elements come together, elimination moves from aspiration to reality. <\/span><\/p>

The WHO 2026 report is both a progress report and a roadmap. It proves that <\/span>elimination is possible<\/span><\/i><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/i>and shows exactly where the world is falling short. The choice is now: accelerate proven interventions and save millions of lives, or accept preventable suffering and missed targets. <\/span>The evidence is clear, the tools are available, and the moral case is undeniable. The time to act is now. <\/span><\/i><\/b><\/i><\/b><\/p>

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>

Source: <\/span><\/i><\/b>Africa: Efforts to Eliminate Hepatitis Delivers Gains but More Action Needed to Meet 2030 Targets – allAfrica.com<\/span><\/u><\/a><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus Around the world, countries are showing that eliminating hepatitis is not a pipedream, it’s possible with sustained political commitment, backed by reliable domestic financing. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":11643,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[163,98,102,111,80,78,95,52,105,103,97,104,53,100,57,76,96,55,86,88],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11642","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-au-eu-health-policies","category-clinical-trials-evidence-based-studies","category-doctors-specialists","category-health-policy-governance","category-healthcare-administrators","category-healthcare-providers","category-healthcare-system-studies","category-industry-insights","category-lab-radiology-technicians","category-nurses-midwives","category-patient-outcomes-and-quality-improvement-studies","category-pharmacists","category-policy-regulation","category-private-vs-public-healthcare-policies","category-professional-insights","category-public-health-disease-control","category-public-health-research","category-research-studies","category-resources","category-webinars-events"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rxdatainsights.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11642","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rxdatainsights.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rxdatainsights.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rxdatainsights.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rxdatainsights.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11642"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/rxdatainsights.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11642\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11647,"href":"https:\/\/rxdatainsights.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11642\/revisions\/11647"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rxdatainsights.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11643"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rxdatainsights.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11642"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rxdatainsights.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11642"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rxdatainsights.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11642"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}