WHO की रिपोर्ट के अनुसार, वैश्विक हेपेटाइटिस का दो-तिहाई बोझ भारत सहित दस देशों पर है

Ten countries including India shoulder two-thirds of the global Hepatitis burden, WHO report

The World Health Organization (WHO) has highlighted a pressing global health concern, revealing that ten countries, including India, are shouldering nearly two-thirds of the burden of hepatitis B and C. This revelation comes from the WHO's Global Hepatitis Report, which raises an alarm about the viral hepatitis infections responsible for claiming 3,500 lives every day worldwide. Hepatitis B and C are the second-leading infectious causes of death globally, each year resulting in 1.3 million deaths, which is on par with tuberculosis, another major infectious killer. Despite the availability of generic medicines and other treatment options, countries are struggling to procure them at lower prices, as noted in the report. However, the WHO remains optimistic that the goal to eliminate hepatitis by 2030 is still achievable with swift action. The report emphasizes the need for universal access to prevention, diagnosis, and treatment in the ten high-burden countries by 2025. Additionally, it calls for intensified efforts in the African region to bring the global response back on track. These ten countries include Bangladesh, China, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, the Russian Federation, and Vietnam. One major issue highlighted in the report is the failure of countries to procure affordable generic viral hepatitis medicines at lower prices, despite their availability.

The WHO points out that many countries are paying prices above global benchmarks, even for off-patent drugs or those included in voluntary licensing agreements. For example, tenofovir for hepatitis B treatment is off-patent and available at a global price of $2.4 per month, yet only seven out of 26 reporting countries paid prices at or below the benchmark. Similarly, a 12-week course of pan-genotypic sofosbuvir/daclatasvir to treat hepatitis C is available at a global benchmark price of $60, yet only four out of 24 reporting countries paid prices at or below the benchmark. The report recommends strengthening primary care prevention efforts, simplifying service delivery, and optimizing product regulation and supply, among other measures, to achieve the goal of elimination. It also highlights challenges such as insufficient funding for viral hepatitis at both global and country levels, limited awareness of cost-saving interventions and tools, and competing priorities on global health agendas.

According to updated WHO estimates, 254 million people are living with hepatitis B and 50 million with hepatitis C in 2022. However, only 13% of those living with chronic hepatitis B infection have been diagnosed, and approximately 3% (seven million) have received antiviral therapy. Regarding hepatitis C, 36% have been diagnosed, and 20% (12.5 million) have received curative treatment by the end of 2022. These figures fall well below the global targets to treat 80% of people living with chronic hepatitis B and hepatitis C by 2030. Nevertheless, the report indicates a slight but consistent improvement in diagnosis and treatment coverage since 2019.

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