Global efforts to curb viral hepatitis are yielding measurable gains, but the disease remains a leading health challenge, a World Health Organization (WHO) report released at the World Hepatitis Summit showed.
The 2026 Global Hepatitis Report indicates that hepatitis B and C – responsible for 95 % of hepatitis‑related deaths – claimed 1.34 million lives in 2024. New infections continue at a rate of more than 4 900 per day, or 1.8 million annually.
Since 2015, the annual number of new hepatitis B infections has fallen 32 % and hepatitis C deaths have dropped 12 % worldwide. Among children under five, hepatitis B prevalence is now 0.6 %, with 85 countries meeting or exceeding the 2030 target of 0.1 %.
These improvements reflect coordinated action after Member States adopted WHO elimination targets at the 2016 World Health Assembly. Nonetheless, the report warns that current progress is insufficient to achieve all 2030 goals, calling for accelerated prevention, testing and treatment.
Burden and gaps
WHO estimates 287 million people lived with chronic hepatitis B or C in 2024. That year, 0.9 million new hepatitis B infections were recorded, 68 % of them in the African Region, where only 17 % of newborns received the birth‑dose vaccine. An additional 0.9 million hepatitis C infections were reported, with people who inject drugs accounting for 44 % of new cases, underscoring the need for stronger harm‑reduction services.
Treatment coverage remains low. Fewer than 5 % of the 240 million people with chronic hepatitis B were on therapy, and only 20 % of those with hepatitis C have been treated since 2015, despite the availability of a 12‑week regimen that cures about 95 % of infections.
Limited access to prevention and care resulted in an estimated 1.1 million hepatitis B deaths and 240 000 hepatitis C deaths in 2024, primarily from liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Ten countries – Bangladesh, China, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, the Philippines, South Africa and Vietnam – accounted for 69 % of hepatitis B deaths, while hepatitis C deaths were spread across ten nations including China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Nigeria, Pakistan, Russia, South Africa, the United States and Vietnam.
Proven tools and priority actions
Effective interventions exist: hepatitis B vaccination provides over 95 % protection; long‑term antivirals can manage chronic infection and prevent severe liver disease; and short‑course curative therapy for hepatitis C achieves cure rates above 95 %.
The report recommends scaling up hepatitis B treatment in the African and Western Pacific regions, expanding hepatitis C therapy in the Eastern Mediterranean region, increasing birth‑dose vaccination coverage, and strengthening antiviral prophylaxis to prevent mother‑to‑child transmission. It also calls for improved injection safety in health‑care and community settings and enhanced harm‑reduction services for people who inject drugs.
WHO Director‑General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus emphasized that “eliminating hepatitis is possible with sustained political commitment and reliable financing,” but warned that “progress is too slow and uneven.” Dr Tereza Kasaeva, WHO Director for HIV, TB, Hepatitis and STIs, added that every missed diagnosis and untreated infection represents a preventable death and urged faster integration of hepatitis services into primary care.
The WHO report underscores that while notable strides have been made, intensified global effort is essential to meet the 2030 elimination targets and reduce the burden of viral hepatitis worldwide.
