UN Chronicle -Dr. John W. Ward is Director of the Coalition for Global Hepatitis Elimination.
25 July 2025

World Hepatitis Day is observed on 28 July each year. Its purpose is to raise awareness to combat hepatitis and achieve the goals of the World Health Organization (WHO) for the elimination of hepatitis B and hepatitis C as global health threats. The 2025 theme, “Let’s Break It Down”, calls for collective action to break down the remaining barriers to prevention, care and the cure of hepatitis.
Hepatitis B and hepatitis C are often hidden infections; they can exist in the body undetected for years until they cause liver failure or liver cancer, the third leading cause of cancer deaths. As a result, public awareness, political attention and investment remain limited. Yet the numbers demand our urgent attention: worldwide, 305 million people have hepatitis B or hepatitis C, causing 1.3 million deaths per year – exceeding deaths from HIV (human immunodeficiency virus).1
Recognizing this crisis, the United Nations, in Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target 3.3, challenged the world to combat hepatitis. In response, the World Health Assembly in 2016 unanimously endorsed the WHO goals for eliminating hepatitis B and hepatitis C. The benefits of hepatitis elimination are substantial: for health, preventing 36 million infections and averting 10 million deaths; for economies, increasing productivity by $145 billion.2
Now, nearly ten years since setting these goals, recent global reports reveal both remarkable achievements and persistent barriers in the world’s journey towards hepatitis elimination.
Achievement: vaccination of children to prevent hepatitis B and liver cancer
With the assistance of the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (Gavi), the United Nations Children's Fund and other partners, most countries vaccinate infants to prevent hepatitis B. For example, since 1992, China raised infant vaccination coverage to over 90 per cent, preventing 40 million new infections. Globally, since 1990, childhood hepatitis B vaccination has averted over 22 million deaths. Through this collective effort, the world met the 2020 interim global goal of fewer than 1 in 100 children infected with hepatitis B.
Challenge: protecting newborns in Africa from hepatitis B
Newborns infected with hepatitis B virus (HBV) during birth have a 90 per cent risk of lifelong infection and risk of death from liver cancer. To protect newborns, vaccination must begin quickly, preferably within 24 hours of birth. Maternal hepatitis B screening to detect and treat infected mothers provides extra protection. In the WHO African region, fewer than one in five newborns receive timely hepatitis B vaccination. Today, globally, about two of every three new chronic HBV infections are among the children of Africa. The Coalition for Global Hepatitis Elimination and partners are working to improve vaccine coverage through education and national policy development. Gavi now supports hepatitis B vaccination for newborns. The pay-off in better health is great: vaccinating 90 per cent of newborns in Africa will prevent 500,000 deaths from hepatitis B.
Achievement: infection control to prevent HBV and HCV
Both hepatitis B and C are blood-borne viruses. Unsafe medical practices, especially the reuse of syringes, pose a major risk of transmission. Global efforts to promote safe injection practices have changed behaviours: today, 95 per cent of medical injections worldwide are given with sterile equipment. However, unsafe medical injections still pose risks, particularly in South Asia and other regions where injectable medicines are often preferred.
Challenge: hepatitis C transmission among persons who inject drugs
Globally, about 50 per cent of persons who inject drugs have been infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV). Prevention requires access to harm-reduction services, i.e., sterile needles, opioid substitution therapy and testing and treatment for hepatitis C. Yet only a few countries (e.g., Australia, Canada) provide adequate harm-reduction services, underscoring the need for greater investment and political will to protect populations most vulnerable to hepatitis C.
Achievement: model national programmes to test, treat and cure hepatitis C
The treatments for hepatitis C are miracles of modern medicine – the first drugs to cure a chronic viral infection. Taken as pills for two to three months, these medications cure over 95 per cent of people with hepatitis C. Medication costs have fallen globally to a $60 treatment course available through the Global Fund. No longer should anyone die of hepatitis C.

​TO CONTINUE READING:https://www.un.org/en/un-chronicle/world-hepatitis-day-and-every-day-advancing-global-solidarity-eliminate-hepatitis

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Published June 20, 2025 | Originally published on ScienceAlert Latest

The liver is one of the hardest working organs in the human body. It detoxifies harmful substances, helps with digestion, stores nutrients, and regulates metabolism.Despite its remarkable resilience – and even its ability to regenerate – the liver is not indestructible. In fact, many everyday habits, often overlooked, can slowly cause damage that may eventually lead to serious conditions such as cirrhosis (permanent scarring of the liver) or liver failure.
One of the challenges with liver disease is that it can be a silent threat. In its early stages, it may cause only vague symptoms like constant fatigue or nausea.

As damage progresses, more obvious signs may emerge. One of the most recognisable is jaundice, where the skin and the whites of the eyes turn yellow.
While most people associate liver disease with heavy drinking, alcohol isn't the only culprit.

TO CONTINUE READING:​https://www.mdlinx.com/news/5-daily-habits-could-be-causing-your-liver-serious-harm/4mtIzFD66eIlvvAW0f9ld4?show_order=2&utm_campaign=re