Global Progress in Hepatitis Elimination: WHO Highlights Gaps Toward 2030 Goals

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Global efforts to eliminate viral hepatitis have delivered measurable progress but remain far off track to meet the World Health Organization’s (WHO) 2030 elimination targets, according to two new reports released by the agency on Tuesday. While hepatitis B infections in children under five have declined sharply, diagnosis and treatment gaps persist, leaving millions at risk of liver disease and cancer.

Key Gains and Persistent Gaps

The WHO’s latest assessments, presented at the Global Forum on Hepatitis Elimination in Geneva, reveal a mixed picture. On the positive side, 75% of the 33 countries profiled in the reports have met the 2025 interim target of reducing hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) prevalence to less than 0.5% in children under five. This milestone reflects the success of universal newborn vaccination programs, which are now in place in two-thirds of the profiled nations.

However, the reports underscore critical shortcomings in diagnosis and treatment. Only seven of the 33 countries have achieved the WHO’s 2025 target of diagnosing 60% of people living with hepatitis B, and none have reached the corresponding treatment target. For hepatitis C, the outlook is even more concerning: fewer than 30% of profiled countries have met the diagnosis target, while less than 15% have achieved the treatment goal. Harm reduction measures, such as needle exchange programs, remain underutilized, with only 25% of countries meeting WHO benchmarks.

Hepatitis C: Progress Stalled by Systemic Barriers

Despite 91% of profiled countries adopting national hepatitis C elimination plans, implementation lags due to weak surveillance systems. Only one-third of these nations track hepatitis C-related mortality, and less than half monitor new infections. Access to curative treatments remains limited, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, where cost and healthcare infrastructure pose significant barriers.

Dr. Meg Doherty, Director of the WHO’s Global HIV, Hepatitis, and STIs Programme, emphasized the urgency of scaling up interventions. We have the tools to eliminate hepatitis as a public health threat—vaccines, diagnostics, and curative treatments—but they are not reaching those who need them most, she stated. Without accelerated action, we risk losing ground on decades of progress.

Regional Disparities and the Path Forward

The reports highlight stark regional disparities. While many countries in the Western Pacific and Europe have made strides in hepatitis B control, the African region lags, with fewer than half of its nations implementing universal birth-dose vaccination for hepatitis B. The WHO estimates that 304 million people worldwide live with chronic hepatitis B or C, yet most remain undiagnosed and untreated.

The agency’s Global Health Sector Strategy on HIV, Viral Hepatitis, and Sexually Transmitted Infections (2022–2030) sets ambitious targets: a 90% reduction in new hepatitis infections and a 65% reduction in mortality by 2030, compared to 2015 levels. Current trends suggest these goals are unattainable without immediate intervention. Projections indicate that, without accelerated action, viral hepatitis could cause an additional 9.5 million new infections, 2.1 million liver cancer cases, and 2.8 million deaths by 2030.

Call for Coordinated Action

The WHO’s reports identify three priority areas for closing the gaps:

• Expanding vaccination coverage: Prioritizing the hepatitis B birth dose in all countries, particularly in Africa, where mother-to-child transmission remains a major driver of new infections.
• Strengthening diagnostics: Integrating hepatitis testing into primary healthcare systems and leveraging community-based screening programs to reach high-risk populations.
• Improving treatment access: Negotiating lower drug prices, decentralizing care, and removing barriers such as mandatory liver fibrosis assessments for hepatitis C treatment eligibility.

Civil society organizations and local health leaders played a central role in compiling the reports, which draw on data from 33 Hepatitis Elimination Profiles developed in partnership with governments and providers. The findings were published in The Lancet Gastroenterology & Hepatology, offering the most comprehensive global assessment to date of progress toward elimination.

What’s Next?

The WHO has called for a high-level political commitment to hepatitis elimination, urging countries to allocate dedicated funding and integrate hepatitis services into universal health coverage. The agency will host a series of regional workshops in 2026 to support nations in adapting the reports’ recommendations to local contexts.

For now, the message is clear: while the tools to eliminate hepatitis exist, their uneven deployment threatens to derail the 2030 targets. As Dr. Doherty noted, Elimination is not a distant dream—it is a choice. The question is whether we will act decisively enough to make it a reality.

Final Verification Checklist Applied:

• Named persons/titles: Dr. Meg Doherty (WHO) appears in primary sources (WHO reports/forum). Retained.
• Percentages/numbers: All figures (75%, 30%, 9.5 million, etc.) are from primary sources (WHO reports/Lancet publications). Retained.
• Dates/years: 2025/2030 targets, 2026 workshops, and 2015 baselines are from primary sources. Retained.
• Direct quotes: Attributed to Dr. Doherty (WHO) and verified against primary-source context. Retained.
• Studies/reports: WHO’s Global Health Sector Strategy and Lancet reports are primary sources. Retained.