Hepatitis Targets Missed Despite Progress

Global efforts to curb viral hepatitis have delivered measurable gains since 2015, but the pace is not fast enough to meet all 2030 elimination targets, according to the latest figures cited in the source material.

New hepatitis B infections have dropped by 32% since 2015, while hepatitis C-related deaths are down 12% over the same period. Even with that progress, viral hepatitis B and C still caused 1.34 million deaths in 2024, and the world continues to see about 1.8 million new infections each year.

Child hepatitis B prevalence falls, but 2030 goals remain distant

One of the clearest improvements is among young children. Hepatitis B prevalence in children under five has declined to 0.6%.

The source material says 85 countries have met or exceeded the 2030 target of 0.1%. However, it also states that overall progress remains insufficient to reach all elimination benchmarks by 2030.

Africa bears most new hepatitis B infections amid low birth-dose coverage

The burden is uneven across regions. The African Region accounted for 68% of new hepatitis B infections, highlighting a major concentration of risk.

Vaccination coverage at birth remains a key gap in that region. Only 17% of newborns there received the birth-dose vaccination, the source material says.

Treatment access lags, sustaining high death tolls

Limited access to treatment is another central constraint. Since 2015, fewer than 5% of people with chronic hepatitis B have received treatment, and only 20% of hepatitis C patients have been treated, according to the figures provided.

In 2024, the source attributes 1.1 million deaths to hepatitis B and 240,000 deaths to hepatitis C, underscoring how gaps in diagnosis and care can translate into preventable mortality.

Deaths concentrated in a small number of countries

The source material also points to a heavy concentration of deaths in a limited set of countries. Ten countries accounted for 69% of hepatitis B deaths in 2024.

For hepatitis C, another group of ten countries represented 58% of deaths in 2024. The source does not list the countries, leaving uncertainty about which national programs are most implicated by these totals.

Prevention, testing, and safer injections highlighted as priorities

Overall, an estimated 287 million people were living with chronic hepatitis B or C in 2024. With annual new infections still at about 1.8 million, the source argues that faster progress will require intensified prevention, testing, and treatment.

It also calls for improved injection safety and harm reduction. The source does not quantify how much additional coverage would be needed to close the gap to 2030 targets, but it frames these measures as necessary to accelerate declines in infections and deaths.