World going too slow on eliminating hepatitis: WHO

The world is making progress against hepatitis, but not nearly fast enough to eliminate the disease by 2030, the World Health Organization said on April 28.

In its Global hepatitis report 2026, released alongside a World Hepatitis Summit forum in Bangkok, WHO said hepatitis B and C caused 1.34 million deaths in 2024 and that there are about 1.8 million new infections each year.

The agency said the trend lines are moving in the right direction. Annual new hepatitis B infections are down 32% since 2015, hepatitis C-related deaths are down 12% globally, and hepatitis B prevalence among children under five has fallen to 0.6%.

Even so, WHO warned that progress remains too slow to meet its 2030 elimination targets. The report said stronger testing, treatment and prevention are still needed to turn the decline into elimination.

The report is part of WHO’s wider effort to keep hepatitis high on the public health agenda. The organization says the gains so far show elimination is achievable, but only if countries accelerate action.

For health systems, the immediate message is straightforward: fewer infections and deaths do not yet add up to the pace needed to end hepatitis as a major global threat.

The WHO forum in Bangkok and the new report are expected to keep pressure on governments and health agencies to expand screening and treatment coverage over the next few years.