The WHO European Region is proving that viral hepatitis elimination is achievable. New data from the Global hepatitis report 2026 show major gains in prevention and hepatitis C control. However, the Region remains off-track to achieve all hepatitis elimination targets by 2030. This World Hepatitis Day, WHO is asking countries to double down on their elimination efforts with the message “Hepatitis: Let’s break it down.”
Thanks to expanded vaccination programmes, the Region has already surpassed the hepatitis B elimination target among children under 5 years, with prevalence falling to an estimated 0.06%, below the global threshold of 0.1%. New hepatitis B infections have fallen by 54% since 2015, while new hepatitis C infections have declined by 28%. The Region has also recorded one of the world’s biggest reductions in hepatitis C burden, with the number of people living with the virus dropping by 29% and mortality falling by 33% over the past decade.
However, important challenges remain. An estimated 9.7 million people are living with hepatitis B and 5.6 million with hepatitis C across the Region. Only 23% of people with hepatitis B have been diagnosed and just 4.2% are receiving treatment.
“The European Region has shown that hepatitis elimination is possible. Vaccination, harm reduction, infection control measures and access to hepatitis B and C treatment are saving lives every day,” said Stela Bivol, Regional Adviser for HIV, Viral Hepatitis and Sexually Transmitted Infections at WHO/Europe. “However, the biggest gap today is no longer prevention – it is finding people with hepatitis and ensuring that they receive the care and treatment they need. Without accelerating testing and treatment, we will not meet our 2030 targets.”
Sustained investment
Millions of people living with hepatitis B or hepatitis C are still undiagnosed or untreated, and hepatitis-related deaths from liver cancer or cirrhosis continue to rise.
The experience of countries nearing elimination demonstrates the impact of sustained investment and political commitment.
“Georgia’s hepatitis C elimination programme has shown that elimination is not just an aspiration, it is achievable,” said Dr Maia Tsereteli, Head of the Division on HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis, Sexually Transmitted Infections and Tuberculosis, Head of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Viral Hepatitis Elimination at the National Center for Disease Control and Public Health in Georgia. “By expanding testing, ensuring access to treatment and working closely with communities, we have dramatically reduced the burden of hepatitis C. Our experience shows that every country can make progress when hepatitis becomes a national priority.”
On this World Hepatitis Day, WHO is calling on countries across the European Region to break down the barriers keeping people from testing and treatment, sustain prevention efforts and invest in elimination, because the tools to end hepatitis already exist.
