Over 70 million in South-East Asia living with hepatitis B and C: WHO urges urgent action

An estimated 61 million people are living with hepatitis B and another 9 million with hepatitis C across the WHO South-East Asia Region, according to the World Health Organization, which marked World Hepatitis Day on Monday with a call to “break down” the barriers to diagnosis, treatment, and prevention.

“Our Region bears one of the highest burdens of chronic viral hepatitis globally, yet most people living with the disease remain undiagnosed and untreated,” said Dr Catharina Boehme, Officer-in-Charge of WHO South-East Asia.

The South-East Asia Region includes 10 countries: Bangladesh, Bhutan, DPR Korea, India, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Timor-Leste.

Each year, over 260,000 people in the region die from hepatitis-related causes, many due to preventable complications such as liver cirrhosis and liver cancer — particularly from undiagnosed or untreated hepatitis B and C.

Late diagnosis, limited access worsen outcomes

One of the major challenges in tackling hepatitis is the lack of early diagnosis and treatment. Most liver cancer cases linked to hepatitis are diagnosed at a late stage when curative treatment is no longer viable.

Dr Boehme emphasized the need to decentralise hepatitis services to primary healthcare, simplify treatment guidelines, and make diagnosis and treatment widely accessible and affordable.

Tools for prevention and cure already exist

“We have the tools to prevent these infections,” Dr Boehme said, citing the hepatitis B vaccine, affordable diagnostics, effective antiviral medications for hepatitis B, and curative direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) for hepatitis C.

Yet major hurdles remain, including fragmented services, poor integration at the primary care level, stigma, lack of awareness, and high out-of-pocket costs for patients.

This year’s theme: ‘Let’s Break It Down’

World Hepatitis Day, observed annually on July 28 to honour Nobel laureate Dr Baruch Blumberg — who discovered the hepatitis B virus and developed its vaccine — aims to raise awareness about viral hepatitis and the urgent need for global action.

The 2025 theme, “Hepatitis: Let’s Break It Down,” calls for dismantling financial, social, and systemic barriers that stand in the way of ending hepatitis as a public health threat by 2030.

“We must embed hepatitis services within essential health packages, leverage primary health care platforms, and align responses with maternal and child health, HIV, STIs, TB, non-communicable diseases, and universal health coverage,” said Dr Boehme.

She also urged prioritising hepatitis B birth-dose vaccination, harm reduction services, and community-based outreach to reach underserved and at-risk populations.

Progress underway, but more needed

Dr Boehme noted that some countries in the region are making strides by simplifying service models, integrating hepatitis care into broader health systems, and covering costs under national insurance schemes.

“These innovations must now be scaled and sustained,” she said, calling for strong political commitment, community engagement, and increased investment to meet the 2030 elimination target.

“Together, let’s break it down — by removing complexity, ending the silence, and delivering on our promise to eliminate hepatitis.”