Today's WHO news release notes that 'People who inject drugs accounted for 44% of new infections, highlighting the urgent need for stronger harm reduction services and safe injection practices...'
NEWS RELEASE
Efforts to eliminate hepatitis delivers gains but more action needed to meet 2030 targets
https://www.who.int/news/item/28-04-2026-efforts-to-eliminate-hepatitis-...
28 April 2026 - Global efforts to combat viral hepatitis are delivering measurable progress in reducing infections and deaths, but the disease remains a major global health challenge, according to a new World Health Organization (WHO) report released today at the World Hepatitis Summit.
Viral hepatitis B and C – the two infections responsible for 95% of hepatitis-related deaths worldwide – claimed 1.34 million lives in 2024, the latest data show. At the same time, transmission continues, with more than 4900 new infections every day, or 1.8 million each year...
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “... Many people remain undiagnosed and untreated due to stigma, weak health systems and inequitable access to care. While we have the tools to eliminate hepatitis as a public health threat, urgent scale-up of prevention, diagnosis and treatment is needed if the world is to meet the 2030 targets.”...
A further 0.9 million hepatitis C infections were recorded in 2024. People who inject drugs accounted for 44% of new infections, highlighting the urgent need for stronger harm reduction services and safe injection practices...
Of the 240 million people with chronic hepatitis B in 2024, fewer than 5% were receiving treatment.
COMMENT (NPW): A further important point that is not mentioned in the press release is that 87% of people with hepatitis B are unaware that they have it - that means 217 million people or 1 in 30 of the whole world population (8.3 billion). Awareness of personal hepatitis B status is part of the healthcare information that people need to be able to protect their own health and the health of others.
HIFA profile: Neil Pakenham-Walsh is coordinator of HIFA (Healthcare Information For All), a global health community that brings all stakeholders together around the shared goal of universal access to reliable healthcare information. HIFA has 20,000 members in 180 countries, interacting in four languages and representing all parts of the global evidence ecosystem. HIFA is administered by Global Healthcare Information Network, a UK-based nonprofit in official relations with the World Health Organization. Email: neil@hifa.org