chain, public health partners—including governments, international organizations, NGOs, and others—are crucial.
Our collaboration with the Egyptian Ministry of Health to conduct a mass screening program that examined over 60 million people, of whom more than 2 million required treatment and eventually received it, serves as a potent illustration. We are attempting to implement this program in other nations. Regarding education, we supported awareness campaigns in numerous nations and sponsored the African Hepatitis Summit in Kampala, Uganda.
Collaborating across sectors is the only way to address significant global issues. We cannot accomplish it on our own.
Promoting a Multifaceted Agenda
The WHO’s deputy director-general, Dr. Zsusanna Jakab
If we want to eradicate hepatitis by 2030, advocacy, high-level governmental commitment, and solid partnerships, including community engagement, are essential. Countries must adopt the WHO’s evidence-based normative recommendations and public health methods for hepatitis prevention, treatment, and care more quickly.
One of our primary duties will be to redirect hepatitis programs toward a comprehensive public health approach to achieve our global SDG goals of a 90% reduction in new hepatitis infections and a 65% reduction in mortality. Asserting financial security and health fairness for everyone would include leading a multisectoral strategy to leverage the response across healthcare systems strengthening, including immunization, infection control, harm reduction, and testing and treatment services.
Innovations from COVID-19 have the potential to shift the course of the global hepatitis response, open up new possibilities, and give people hope that viral hepatitis will no longer be a danger to public health by 2030.
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Integration—Always, Always, Always
Professor of Pediatrics at Ain Shams University and board member of ICE-HBV and The Hepatitis Fund, Manal El-Sayed
Egypt was able to achieve significant progress toward the elimination of hepatitis by addressing this significant public health issue on a whole-society level.
Egypt tested 60 million people for hepatitis C by combining it with NCD (non-communicable disease) screening at primary healthcare institutions. Now, a triple elimination of mother-to-child transmission is being pursued using this fully integrated method (HBV, HIV, and Syphilis).
The nation as a whole was mobilized, which helped Egypt succeed. Nine million students took tests in class. The mobilization of the community and leadership benefited greatly from civil society. The funding for screening, diagnosis, and treatment was provided by large and small enterprises, trust funds, and charitable organizations in certain locations even before the government could. All ministries made donations to the cause, demonstrating unwavering political commitment. Everyone joined the effort after the media got involved.
We diagnosed and treated more than 3 million people because of the political leadership’s successful volume price negotiations.
Take Immediate Action!
President of the World Hepatitis Alliance, Dr. Su Wang
The most underappreciated global health emergency of our time is viral hepatitis. It’s difficult for hepatitis patients like me to