Egypt: WHO Recognizes Egypt As Global Leader in Hepatitis C Elimination #WorldHepatitisDay

Egypt has become the first country in the world to achieve the gold level certification from the World Health Organization (WHO) in its path toward the elimination of Hepatitis C, marking a historic global health milestone.

This recognition, officially granted in 2023, highlights Egypt's unparalleled national efforts to tackle a disease that has long been a major public health burden.

The achievement was made possible through the ambitious 100 Million Health presidential initiative, one of the largest public health campaigns of its kind, which resulted in over 60 million people being screened for Hepatitis C across the country. More than 4.3 million patients received free treatment, helping reduce liver disease and prevent future complications, including liver cancer.

According to WHO, Egypt now accounts for 70 percent of all Hepatitis C treatments in the Eastern Mediterranean Region and 35 percent of all treatments delivered worldwide. Since 2018, Egypt has managed to reduce hepatitis-related deaths by 35 percent, proving that with strong political will and strategic healthcare policies, eliminating a major disease is achievable.

On World Hepatitis Day, observed annually on July 28, WHO emphasized that Hepatitis remains a serious health challenge in many parts of the world, particularly in the Eastern Mediterranean Region where 27 million people are infected and nearly 97,000 people die each year from preventable hepatitis-related complications.

This year's global theme, "Simple Steps to Eliminate Hepatitis," encourages urgent action to expand access to prevention, testing, and treatment. It also calls for removing the social, financial, and systemic barriers--including stigma--that prevent people from receiving care.

In another major breakthrough, Egypt in December 2024 became the first country in the Eastern Mediterranean Region to achieve control status for Hepatitis B, having reduced the virus's prevalence to below 5 percent among children aged 9 and older, while maintaining vaccination rates above 90 percent.

Read the original article on Egypt Online.