World Hepatitis Day 2025: Let’s Break It Down
On 28 July, World Hepatitis Day, held this year under the theme Hepatitis: Let’s Break It Down, WHO is calling for urgent action to dismantle the financial, social and systemic barriers – including stigma – that stand in the way of hepatitis elimination.
Despite being preventable, treatable, and, in the case of hepatitis C, curable, chronic hepatitis B and C continue to cause liver damage and cancer, affecting millions across the Eastern Mediterranean Region
WHO urges policy-makers and health authorities to simplify, scale up and integrate hepatitis services – vaccination, safe injection practices, harm reduction and especially testing and treatment – into national health systems.
We must act now to expand access, integrate care and end hepatitis as a public health problem by 2030.
Regional success stories
Egypt
In 2023, Egypt became the first country globally to achieve “gold tier” status on the path towards elimination of hepatitis C, as per WHO criteria, and in December 2024 became the first country in the Eastern Mediterranean Region to achieve hepatitis B control status, reducing hepatitis B prevalence to less than 1% among children aged 5 and above and maintaining coverage of over 90% for both the birth and third dose of hepatitis B vaccine.
Pakistan
Pakistan is now following in Egypt’s footsteps with an ambitious national hepatitis elimination programme that aims to replicate Egypt’s success.