Hepatitis

Abstract

A decade ago, viral hepatitis was a largely neglected disease burden. Since then, three factors have led to a global effort for eliminating viral hepatitis as a public health threat by 2030. First, the approach and burden have been consolidated with a comprehensive strategy to tackle the 1.1 million deaths and three million new infections per year. Second, five strategic interventions were integrated covering hepatitis B vaccination, blood and injection safety, harm reduction, and testing and treatment for hepatitis B and cure for hepatitis C, which when scaled to universal coverage result in elimination as a public health threat. Thirdly, viral hepatitis was included in the Sustainable Development Goals from 2015, and ambitious targets set for 2030 endorsed by 194 countries. This section assesses this transformation in the global response for what is now recognised as a major global disease burden for which elimination as a public health threat is feasible.