Diagnostics Media and Policy Forum on Hepatitis

As of 2022, 304 million persons were living with chronic hepatitis B or C virus infection. Of the 254 million persons living with hepatitis B, 86% were unaware of their infection and 97% had not been treated. Of the 50 million persons living with hepatitis C, 63% were unaware of their infection and 80% had not been treated.¹

In the Asia Pacific (APAC) region, hepatitis deaths have reached one million per year, a death rate three times higher than deaths from HIV/AIDS, and accounting for 63% of the global hepatitis death toll.²

In 2016, the World Health Assembly unanimously adopted the resolution that viral hepatitis should be eliminated by 2030. In the same year, the World Health Organization published the Global Health Sector Strategy on viral hepatitis to reach this goal, defining elimination as a 90% reduction in incidence and 65% reduction in mortality for hepatitis B and C, from 2015 to 2030.³

Since then, hepatitis testing and treatment have been made more accessible, yet many countries – particularly low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) – still have ways to go in reaching the elimination goals.

At a Diagnostics Media and Policy Forum hosted by Devex in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, three experts in the infectious diseases space – Dr. John Ward, Director, Coalition for Global Hepatitis Elimination; Roberta Sarno, PhD, Director, APAC Liver Disease Alliance; and Dr. Saeed Hamid, Professor and Chair, Department of Medicine, Aga Khan University – came together to discuss the hepatitis landscape in APAC, the barriers and challenges for testing and treatment, and the path forward. Everyone deserves to get tested and by shining a light on hepatitis we can move closer to achieving the WHO 2030 hepatitis elimination goals.