FORUM: "One life, one liver." World Hepatitis Day 2023.
Over one million hepatitis-related deaths every single year – and one new chronic infection every ten seconds. And that’s why liver health is fundamental to human health. So many hepatitis deaths could be prevented. Because there are vaccines and effective treatments for hepatitis B and even a cure for hepatitis C - you CAN protect yourself and your loved ones. Speak to your local healthcare provider to find out how to protect yourself from hepatitis.
EVENTS: Global Hepatitis Webinar – One life, one liver
Scaling-up the testing and treatment of viral hepatitis towards the 2030 elimination goals.
On World Hepatitis Day (WHD) 2023, WHO will host a global webinar in collaboration with partners worldwide, to raise awareness on the viral hepatitis epidemic. The theme for WHD 2023 is “One life, one liver” and it is positioned to illuminate the importance of the liver to the hepatitis elimination agenda.
One of the key features of the event will be highlights from the second and updated 2023 version of the country elimination validation guidance which incorporates the lessons and feedback from the implementation pilot conducted in all WHO regions, as well as experiences from other countries. This revised guidance establishes for the first time a global criterion for Path to Elimination (PTE) for hepatitis B and C for Members States that have made significant progress towards viral elimination but have challenges achieving 2030 targets due to a high baseline burden or absolute targets of incidence or mortality.
The PTE describes a step-wise progression through the prevention, diagnosis and treatment coverage from bronze to silver to gold tiers and will promote an iterative expansion of programmes and strengthening of measurement systems towards demonstrating 2030 elimination impact targets. Several countries are eligible for these tiers and are already actively engaging to commence the official process of validation.
The webinar will feature WHO leaders and high-profile speakers in a multi-stakeholder discussion to share country examples and solutions that highlight the importance of the liver for a healthy life and the need to scale up viral hepatitis prevention, testing and treatment to optimize liver health, prevent liver disease and achieve the 2030 hepatitis elimination. It will highlight the importance of a public health elimination approach and upcoming complementary guidelines update that has the potential to change the trajectory of the hepatitis B response.
The World Hepatitis Day 2023 will be held online on July 28th from 13:00 – 15:00 CET. Hosted by the World Hepatitis Alliance, the World Heath Organization (WHO), the WHO/PAHO; the WHO Europe, the WHO SEARO, the WHO EMRO, the WHO WPRO and the WHO African Regional offices with the participation of the Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC). Register to participate and Get the flyer!
Global Hepatitis Webinar – One life, one liver.
STATEMENTS: Statement from Dr. Tedros on World Hepatitis Day 2023; July 28th.
KEY MESSAGES
1. We’ve only got one life, and we’ve only got one liver. Hepatitis can devastate both.
A liver silently performs over 500 vital functions every single day to keep us alive. That’s why prioritizing liver health – and knowing our hepatitis status – is so important.
- As well as knowing our hepatitis status and seeking treatment, reducing alcohol, achieving a healthy weight, treating hypertension and managing diabetes are key to a healthy liver.
- The benefits of a healthy liver include:
- Living longer.
- Protecting your loved ones against hepatitis.
- Protecting other vital organs, including the heart, brain and kidneys, that rely on the liver to function.
2. Viral hepatitis still kills over a million people every year.
- Combined, hepatitis B and hepatitis C cause 1.1 million deaths and 3 million new infections every year.
- 350 million people are living with a chronic viral hepatitis infection.
- 3,000 people die from hepatitis every day. That’s one hepatitis death every thirty seconds.
- Over 8,000 new hepatitis B and C infections occur each day. That’s over 5 infections every minute.
- If the current trajectory continues, viral hepatitis will kill more people annually than malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS combined by 2040.
3. Globally, there’s a huge number of undiagnosed and untreated people living with hepatitis. This must change.
Hepatitis infection is silent and liver health awareness is low. Most symptoms only appear once the disease is advanced, resulting in a huge volume of undiagnosed people living with hepatitis. Even when hepatitis is diagnosed, the number of people who go on to receive treatment is incredibly low.
- Most people discover they have hepatitis B or C after many years of silent infection, and only when they develop serious liver disease or cancer.
- Even after diagnosis, the level of treatment and care for people living with hepatitis is astonishingly poor.
- Only 10% of people with chronic hepatitis B are diagnosed. Only 22% of those receive treatment – that’s just 2% of the total global health burden.
- Only 21% of people with hepatitis C are diagnosed. 62% of those diagnosed receive treatment to cure them – just 13% of the total global health burden.
4. So many hepatitis infections – and deaths – can be prevented.
Offering easy-to-navigate services at local health facilities is key to successfully ending hepatitis.
- To eliminate hepatitis and achieve the WHO’s ambitious targets by 2030, simplified primary care services for viral hepatitis should ensure that:All pregnant women living with chronic hepatitis B have access to treatment and their infants have access to hepatitis B birth vaccines to prevent infection.
- 90% of people living with hepatitis B and/or hepatitis C are diagnosed.
- 80% of diagnosed people are cured or treated according to newer expanded eligibility criteria.
- Hepatitis C can be prevented by adequately screening all donated blood, ensuring safe injection practices in health care settings, at home and especially among people who inject drugs.
- After years of climbing treatment numbers, current data shows that the number of people accessing the hepatitis C cure is slowing.
- A 12-week course of medication to cure hepatitis C now costs 60 USD, down from the original costs of more than 90,000 USD when first introduced.
- Hepatitis B can be prevented through vaccination and effectively managed via treatment. Treatment for hepatitis B now costs less than 30 USD per year (2.4 USD per month).
- These price drops should boost treatment rates.
5. With COVID-19 no longer a global health emergency, now’s the time to eliminate viral hepatitis and meet our 2030 targets.
COVID-19 slowed progress of the global hepatitis response in recent years. However, continued success in reducing hepatitis B infections in children proves that progress is possible. Now’s the time to prioritize testing and treatment to realize a hepatitis-free world and meet our 2030 targets.
- The reduction of hepatitis B infections in children by effective vaccination practice is one of the few Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) health targets that’s on track. It’s also the only hepatitis target on track.
- However, there are still too few countries in Africa that have access to hepatitis B ‘timely birth dose vaccine’, which are given in the first 24 hours after birth. Efforts to scale this up stalled due to COVID-19.
- Giving more hepatitis B vaccines at birth is urgently needed to meet the SDG target of preventing mother-to-child transmission.
You’ve only got one life, and you’ve only got one liver. Hepatitis can devastate both.
Your liver silently performs over 500 vital functions every single day to keep you alive.
But viral hepatitis infection is also silent, with symptoms only appearing once the disease is advanced. Although there are many different types of hepatitis viruses (A to E), hepatitis B and C are the most concerning and cause nearly 8000 new infections every day, which are mostly going undetected.
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