Stakeholders at a dissemination meeting on the outcome of the 2026 World Hepatitis Summit in Bangkok have called for urgent scale-up of treatment for people living with hepatitis B and C, alongside improved coverage of hepatitis B birth-dose vaccination, to meet the World Health Organization's (WHO) goal of eliminating viral hepatitis as a public health threat by 2030.
The meeting, held in [location not specified in source], brought together health officials, civil society representatives, and medical experts to discuss the summit's findings. According to the WHO, an estimated 296 million people were living with chronic hepatitis B and 58 million with hepatitis C globally in 2019, with most deaths resulting from cirrhosis and liver cancer.
Key recommendations from the summit include expanding access to antiviral therapies, strengthening prevention through universal birth-dose vaccination, and improving screening and linkage to care. The WHO's 2030 targets aim for a 90% reduction in new infections and a 65% reduction in deaths from viral hepatitis.
βWithout immediate action, we will miss the 2030 deadline,β said a stakeholder at the meeting, as quoted in the source article. The call comes amid concerns that current progress is insufficient, particularly in low- and middle-income countries where treatment coverage remains low.
