Editorial
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2018. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Nov 28, 2018; 24(44): 4959-4961
Published online Nov 28, 2018. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v24.i44.4959
Hepatitis elimination by 2030: Progress and challenges
Yasir Waheed, Masood Siddiq, Zubia Jamil, Muzammil Hasan Najmi
Yasir Waheed, Multidisciplinary Laboratory, Foundation University Medical College, Foundation University Islamabad, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan
Masood Siddiq, Department of Medicine, Jinnah Memorial Hospital, 2-Civil Lines, Rawalpindi 46000, Pakistan
Zubia Jamil, Department of Medicine, Fauji Foundation Hospital, Foundation University Medical College, Foundation University Islamabad, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan
Muzammil Hasan Najmi, Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Foundation University Medical College, Foundation University Islamabad, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan
Author contributions: Waheed Y designed study and wrote manuscript; Waheed Y, Siddiq M, Jamil Z, Najmi MH did literature search, data analysis and gave the final approval of the study.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors have no conflict of interest to declare.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author to: Yasir Waheed, PhD, Assistant Professor, Multidisciplinary Laboratory, Foundation University Medical College, Foundation University Islamabad, Defense Avenue, DHA 1, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan. yasir.waheed@fui.edu.pk
Telephone: +92-300-5338171
Received: August 30, 2018
Peer-review started: August 30, 2018
First decision: October 9, 2018
Revised: October 23, 2018
Accepted: November 2, 2018
Article in press: November 2, 2018
Published online: November 28, 2018
Abstract

Globally, over 300 million people are living with viral hepatitis with approximately 1.3 million deaths per year. In 2016, World Health Assembly adopted the Global Health Sector Strategy on viral hepatitis to eliminate hepatitis by 2030. Different World Health Organization member countries are working on hepatitis control strategies to achieve hepatitis elimination. So far, only 12 countries are on track to achieve hepatitis elimination targets. The aim of the study was to give an update about the progress and challenges to achieving hepatitis elimination by 2030. According to the latest data, 87% of infants had received the three doses of hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccination in the first year of their life and 46% of infants had received a timely birth dose of HBV vaccination. There is a strong need to improve blood and injection safety. Rates of hepatitis B and C diagnosis are very low and only 11% of hepatitis B and C cases are diagnosed. There is a dire need to speed up hepatitis diagnosis and find the missing millions of people living with viral hepatitis. Up to 2016, only 3 million hepatitis C cases have been treated. Pricing of hepatitis C virus drugs is also reduced in many countries. The major hurdle to achieve hepatitis elimination is lack of finances to support hepatitis programs. None of the major global donors are committed to invest in the fight against hepatitis. It will be very difficult for the low and middle-income countries to fund their hepatitis control program. Hepatitis elimination needs strong financial and political commitment, support from civil societies, and support from pharmaceutical and medical companies around the globe.

Keywords: Hepatitis, Global Health Sector Strategy, Hepatitis B virus vaccination, Injection safety, Find missing millions, Harm reduction

Core tip: Viral hepatitis is one of the leading causes of deaths worldwide. World Health Organization has produced a strategy to eliminate hepatitis by 2030. The major hurdle to achieve hepatitis elimination is lack of financial resources. If the targets in Global Health Sector Strategy are achieved, then the millions of lives will be saved from liver related premature deaths.