The World Health Organization (WHO) is calling on governments and partners to urgently accelerate efforts to eliminate viral hepatitis as a public health threat, especially as deaths from liver cancer continue to climb in vulnerable regions like Latin America and the Caribbean.
“Every 30 seconds, someone dies from a hepatitis-related severe liver disease or liver cancer. Yet we have the tools to stop hepatitis,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.
Viral hepatitis types A, B, C, D, and E are significant causes of acute liver infections. Of these, only hepatitis B, C, and D lead to chronic conditions that dramatically increase the risk of liver failure, cirrhosis, and liver cancer. Yet globally, most people infected remain unaware of their status. Hepatitis B, C, and D affect over 300 million people and are responsible for more than 1.3 million deaths annually.
The burden is especially critical in the Caribbean and parts of Latin America, where testing and treatment services often remain under-resourced or poorly integrated into national health systems. According to WHO’s 2024 Global Hepatitis Report, only 13% of people with hepatitis B and 36% with hepatitis C had been diagnosed by 2022. Treatment rates are even lower — just 3% for hepatitis B and 20% for hepatitis C — far below the 2025 targets of 60% diagnosed and 50% treated.
New scientific findings have added urgency to the global response. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has officially classified hepatitis D as carcinogenic to humans — a designation already held by hepatitis B and C. Hepatitis D only affects individuals co-infected with hepatitis B but carries a two- to six-fold higher risk of liver cancer compared to hepatitis B alone.
“WHO has published guidelines on testing and diagnosis of Hepatitis B and D in 2024, and is actively following the clinical outcomes from innovative treatments for hepatitis D,” said Dr Meg Doherty, incoming Director of Science for Health at WHO.
While oral medications can now cure hepatitis C in just 2–3 months and suppress hepatitis B with lifelong treatment, options for hepatitis D are still evolving. Yet health experts stress that treatment alone is not enough. Expanding vaccination programs, improving access to diagnostic testing, and integrating hepatitis care into primary healthcare and HIV programs are critical steps toward curbing deaths.
Some progress has been made, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). As of 2025, the number of countries with national hepatitis action plans jumped to 123, up from 59. Additionally, 129 countries now mandate hepatitis B testing among pregnant women (up from 106 in 2024), and 147 countries offer a hepatitis B birth dose vaccination — an increase from 138 in 2022.
Still, service coverage remains uneven. Only 80 countries have integrated hepatitis care into primary health systems, and just 27 have linked hepatitis C services to harm reduction programs — a gap that is especially critical in countries dealing with high rates of drug use and limited public health infrastructure.
According to WHO, scaling up prevention, testing, and treatment efforts could save 2.8 million lives and prevent 9.8 million new infections by 2030. But to reach those goals, the agency says countries must prioritize domestic investment, expand access to affordable medicines, improve data collection, and dismantle stigma.
In response, WHO has partnered with Rotary International and the World Hepatitis Alliance to bolster local and global advocacy. Their latest campaign, “Hepatitis: Let’s break it down,” calls for dismantling persistent barriers that hinder progress, from funding shortages to the lingering social stigma around chronic hepatitis infections. The collaboration highlights the crucial role of community-led efforts in achieving long-term change.
