WHO said Egypt has diagnosed 87 per cent of people living with hepatitis C and provided 93 per cent of those diagnosed with curative treatment.
Egypt has become the first country to achieve the 'gold tier' status on the path of eliminating hepatitis C, a viral infection.
In a statement published on its website on Monday, WHO said achieving the gold tier means that Egypt has fulfilled the requirements that facilitate the reduction of new hepatitis C infections and deaths to levels that position the country to end the hepatitis C epidemic.
The global health body noted that Egypt has diagnosed 87 per cent of people living with hepatitis C and provided 93 per cent of those diagnosed with curative treatment.
It said this exceeded the WHO gold tier targets of diagnosing at least 80 per cent of people living with hepatitis C and providing treatment to at least 70 per cent of diagnosed people.
It noted that Egypt has successfully transitioned from having one of the highest rates of hepatitis C in the world to one of the lowest by reducing the prevalence of hepatitis C from 10 per cent to 0.38 per cent in just over a decade.
The WHO Director-General, Tedros Ghebreyesus, said Egypt's journey from having one of the world's highest rates of hepatitis C infection to being on the path to elimination in less than 10 years is nothing short of astounding.
Mr Ghebreyesus said Egypt is an example to the world of what can be achieved with modern tools, and political commitment at the highest level to use those tools to prevent infections and save lives.
"Egypt's success must give all of us hope and motivation to eliminate hepatitis C everywhere," he said.
Hepatitis C
Hepatitis C is a liver infection caused by the Hepatitis C Virus (HCV). Hepatitis C is spread through contact with blood from an infected person.
Globally, 58 million people are living with chronic hepatitis C infection. While there is no vaccine, the disease can be cured with highly effective and curative short-course treatments that last eight to 12 weeks.
WHO said both hepatitis B and C, which are regarded as the commonest of the five strains, cause an average of 1.1 million deaths, and 3 million new infections globally every year.
Meanwhile, four out of five people living with hepatitis C do not know that they are infected.
Unless treated or cured, the infection can cause liver disease and cancer.
Egypt's success story
The statement indicates that Egypt has been strengthening its national preventive and treatment programmes since early 2000s.
It said in 2006, the country established the National Committee for Control of Viral Hepatitis, a governance structure to oversee and lead the national hepatitis response.
The statement reads in part: "Starting in 2014 and reinforced in 2018, the President of Egypt introduced a countrywide campaign to eliminate hepatitis C that offered free testing and treatment for hepatitis C.
"The "100 million seha" (100 million healthy lives) campaign resulted in the testing of over 60 million people and treatment of more than 4.1 million people. Locally manufactured direct-acting antiviral treatments were a key factor in the campaign's remarkable success - a 99 per cent hepatitis C cure rate among people who received treatment."
It noted that through a patient-centred approach, Egypt has also significantly improved its patient safety practices and embraced the concept of "doing no harm" by implementing universal injection safety, blood safety procedures, and harm reduction.
The WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, Ahmed Al-Mandhari, applauded Egypt's unprecedented success:
Mr Al-Mandhari said the success is a testament that success is unstoppable when there is commitment, even when faced with daunting challenges and difficult times, including the COVID-19 pandemic.
"With its commitment to eliminate hepatitis C, Egypt has succeeded in testing virtually the whole of the eligible population and has treated almost all those who are living with the virus," he said.
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"This represents one third of the 12 million people living with hepatitis C in the Eastern Mediterranean Region. This reflects the essence of our regional vision and the call for solidarity and action."
Remarks
The WHO Representative in Egypt, Naeema Gasseer, expressed her fulfilment to witness the historic moment of having Egypt recognised internationally as the first country to have achieved this remarkable progress towards eliminating the disease.
Ms Gasseer said she has witnessed first-hand the extraordinary efforts that the Ministry of Health and Population has undertaken during the past decade to eliminate this public health threat.
"The ministry has been driven by the highest political commitment and by solidarity, equity and inclusion, to provide services to everyone living in Egypt, without discrimination and as a universal human right," she said.
