The World Health Organization says millions of people across Africa continue to live with viral hepatitis without knowing it, citing limited access to timely diagnosis, treatment and care as the main barrier to eliminating the disease on the continent.
In a message marking World Hepatitis Day 2026 under the theme “Hepatitis, Let’s Break It Down,” WHO Regional Director for Africa Mohammed Janabi called on governments, health workers and communities to remove the barriers preventing people from accessing hepatitis services. He said the region achieved a 25 percent decline in new hepatitis B infections between 2015 and 2024, but that millions still lack timely diagnosis and treatment, with delayed diagnosis often meaning people only seek care after serious liver disease has developed.
He said stigma and limited awareness continue to discourage people from seeking testing, and called for hepatitis services to be integrated into routine primary health care to make them more accessible and affordable, alongside continued investment in research to expand diagnostics and treatment, including for hepatitis B and D co infection.
Janabi said the tools to eliminate viral hepatitis already exist, pointing to a hepatitis B vaccine introduced in the early 1990s that offers up to 95 percent protection, along with reliable diagnostics, curative treatment for hepatitis C and lifelong treatment for hepatitis B that can prevent cirrhosis and liver cancer. He said bringing these services closer to communities through stronger primary health systems would save lives and move countries toward universal health coverage, describing the remaining barriers as ones of political will, investment and equitable delivery rather than science.
He said the region has already shown leadership by scaling up the universal hepatitis B birth dose, advancing prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV, syphilis and hepatitis B, and pioneering pathways to eliminate hepatitis C, and urged member states to strengthen national programmes and expand access to vaccination, testing and treatment ahead of the 2030 elimination targets.
