World Hepatitis Day is being observed today worldwide to raise awareness of viral hepatitis, an inflammation of the liver mostly caused by viral infection that progresses to severe liver disease and liver cancer.
As the Day is commemorated, the World Health Organization (WHO) has today urged communities, policymakers, and health authorities to commit to coordinated action to eliminate hepatitis.
Under the theme Hepatitis: Let’s Break It Down, this year’s campaign calls for urgent action to dismantle the financial, social, and systemic barriers, including stigma, that stand in the way of eliminating hepatitis and preventing liver cancer.
In a statement to newsrooms, WHO also called for scaling up and integrating hepatitis services—vaccination, safe injection practices, harm reduction, and most importantly, testing and treatment into national health systems.
There are five main types of viral hepatitis, labeled A, B, C, D, and E. These viruses all cause liver inflammation but differ in their transmission, severity, and potential for chronicity.
Hepatitis is a major public health problem across the World Health Organization (WHO) Eastern Mediterranean Region, affecting 27 million people and leading to an estimated 97,000 preventable deaths each year.
In Kenya, the estimated prevalence of Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) infection is 3.0 percent among individuals aged 15-64 years, translating to approximately 810,600 people in that age group living with HBV, according to a study published by Public Library of Science (PLOS).
The prevalence is higher among people living with HIV (PLHIV) at 4.7 percent compared to those who are HIV-negative (3.0 per cent).
“We need greater political commitment and sustained investment to scale up proven interventions, hepatitis B vaccination, universal testing and treatment, integration into maternal and child health services, sustainable financing, and data-driven action,” said WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean Dr. Hanan Balkhy.
She urged governments and partners to scale up and renew joint action to remove the barriers to elimination, saying “Together we can end hepatitis—and save lives.”
According to Dr. Balkhy, in December 2024, Egypt became the first country in the Eastern Mediterranean Region to achieve hepatitis B control status, reducing hepatitis prevalence to less than 1 percent among children aged 5 and above and maintaining coverage of over 90 percent.
“To eliminate hepatitis, governments, civil society, and communities need to take urgent action at every level, and the public should also get tested for hepatitis B and C, especially during pregnancy, ensuring that newborns receive the hepatitis B birth dose within 24 hours, and practice stringent infection prevention,” WHO says.
Policy-makers have also been called upon to expand birth-dose vaccinations, integrate affordable testing and treatment into primary health care services, and include hepatitis care in universal health coverage and national insurance schemes.
“It is time to break the silos, break the stigma, and dismantle the barriers that prevent people from accessing the care they deserve. Nothing should be allowed to stand in the way of eliminating hepatitis and preventing liver cancer,” WHO says.
Kenya is actively working towards eliminating mother-to-child transmission of hepatitis B, alongside HIV and syphilis, under the “Triple Elimination” agenda.
This commitment by the government is aligned with the national goal to end AIDS in children by 2027 and global targets to reduce viral hepatitis-related mortality and new infections.
By Wangari Ndirangu
