There is no time to waste

In 2024, hepatitis – a disease with vaccines and treatments – should be a thing of the past. Yet it is now the world’s second deadliest virus, claiming 1.3 million lives each year. And according to the latest research from the World Health Organization (WHO), the number of deaths is rising.

So the theme of World Hepatitis Day this year is as simple and urgent as it can be: It’s time for action.

WHO estimates that 254 million people lived with hepatitis B and 50 million with hepatitis C in 2022. However, only a small fraction knew, because just 13% of people with hepatitis B and 36% of people with hepatitis C are diagnosed. Meanwhile, there are 6,000 new cases of viral hepatitis every single day. The reasons for this situation remain the same as when I started my own treatment journey with hepatitis C in 2007; resources are not being mobilised; stigma and discrimination are not being addressed; and despite commitments made by governments and institutions, millions are being left behind. It’s time for action.

There has been some welcome progress since last World Hepatitis Day deserving of celebration. For example, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, announced it would boost the availability of birth doses of hepatitis B vaccine and strengthen the infrastructure to deliver them, now that the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is easing. And by the end of 2023, Egypt had become the first country to achieve WHO validation on the path to elimination of hepatitis C, setting an incredible standard.

But so much more must be done. Global inequities are rife, such as in Africa, where just 18% of newborns receive the hepatitis B birth-dose vaccination, and closer inspection reveals even greater disparities between countries. Results of the world’s first hepatitis stigma survey, launched in Europe this year by the European Centre for Disease Control and World Hepatitis Alliance, also highlight the extensive stigma and discrimination people living with hepatitis experience in day-to-day life, workplaces and healthcare settings.

The publication of the WHO Global Hepatitis Report 2024 at the World Hepatitis Summit in Lisbon in April 2024 highlighted just how much work remains, with very few countries on track to reach elimination by 2030. The world must act now. More than ever, we need governments and policy makers across the world to recommitment to elimination, and this recommitment must be more than words. Action is needed, with civil society at the centre.

Results show that where reductions in hepatitis have occurred, prevention measures like immunisation and safe injections, and expansion of hepatitis C treatment works. We need more people on our side with the ability to change talk and commitments into world-changing actions. We also need to work fast. While we have all the tools required to eliminate hepatitis by 2030, data suggests we have only a short window of opportunity – between 2024 and 2026 – to get back on track to achieve this global goal.

Clearly, there is no time to waste. So this World Hepatitis Day, we urge you to join us and take action.

Rachel Halford
President, World Hepatitis Alliance