Chelsea Clinton Weighs in on Viral Hepatitis Elimination Goal

Eliminating viral hepatitis by 2030 requires support and funding from organizations large and small.
May 22, 2023 • By Laura Schmidt,  hep magazine

In an opinion piece, author and global health advocate Chelsea Clinton emphasized the importance of education, vaccination and treatment for people living with viral hepatitis, which affects almost 400 million people worldwide and kills more than 1 million each year, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The article was cowritten by Finn Jarle Rose, the executive director of The Hepatitis Fund.
Almost 90% of people living with hepatitis do not know their status. Clinton compared the testing rates for hepatitis C virus (HCV) with those for HIV during the early years of that epidemic. “But it doesn’t have to be this way,” she wrote.
The WHO’s goal of eliminating viral hepatitis by 2030 is achievable. In fact, Egypt, which once had one of the highest rates of hepatitis C virus in the world, recently succeeded in eliminating HCV in its entire population. It did so “through a partnership approach that engaged civil society, the private sector, and philanthropic organizations to mobilize the community and increase rates of screening, diagnosis, and treatment,” wrote Clinton.

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