LAGOS, Nigeria(VOICE OF NAIJA)- The World Health Organization (WHO) has identified Nigeria as one of the countries most affected by hepatitis-related deaths, despite available treatment and prevention tools.
According to the new report, viral hepatitis B and C remain the leading causes of hepatitis deaths, responsible for 95 percent of cases.
In 2024 alone, the diseases caused about 1.34 million deaths worldwide, while new infections continue at an alarming rate of nearly 4,900 each day.
The WHO noted, “Ten countries – Bangladesh, China, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, the Philippines, South Africa and Viet Nam – accounted for 69% of hepatitis B-related deaths worldwide in 2024.”
For hepatitis C, deaths are spread across more regions, with another group of countries, including Nigeria making up a large share.
“In 2024, ten countries accounted for 58% of the global total: China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Russian Federation, South Africa, the United States of America and Viet Nam,” the statement reported.
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Meanwhile, the Global Hepatitis Report for 2026 shows that some progress has been made over the past decade.
New hepatitis B infections have dropped by 32 percent since 2015, while deaths linked to hepatitis C have fallen by 12 percent.
Even so, the global burden remains high as an estimated 287 million people were living with chronic hepatitis B or C in 2024.
In that same year, 0.9 million new hepatitis B infections were recorded, with Africa carrying 68 percent of cases. Despite the high numbers, only 17 percent of newborns in the region received the critical hepatitis B vaccine at birth.
Furthermore, hepatitis C continues to spread, with another 0.9 million new infections reported in 2024, with nearly half of the cases linked to drug users who inject stimulants into their bodies using shared and infected tools.
Access to treatment remains a major challenge with less than five percent of people living with chronic hepatitis B receiving care.
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For hepatitis C, about 20 percent of patients have been treated since 2015, despite the availability of medicines that can cure more than 95 percent of cases.
Consequently, hepatitis B is responsible for about 1.1 million deaths in 2024, while hepatitis C led to 240,000 deaths. Most fatalities were due to severe complications such as liver cirrhosis and liver cancer.
Speaking on the global health crisis, WHO Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus, said elimination of hepatitis is possible but requires stronger global action.
“Around the world, countries are showing that eliminating hepatitis is not a pipedream; it’s possible with sustained political commitment, backed by reliable domestic financing… Many people remain undiagnosed and untreated due to stigma, weak health systems and inequitable access to care… While we have the tools to eliminate hepatitis as a public health threat, urgent scale-up of prevention, diagnosis and treatment is needed if the world is to meet the 2030 targets,” he added.
Notably, some countries, including Egypt, Georgia, Rwanda, and the United Kingdom have shown that steady investment and strong policies can reduce infections and deaths.
The report therefore calls for wider vaccination across regions, increased testing, and better access to treatment, to slow the spread of the disease and save lives.
Health experts maintain that without faster action, millions of people will remain at risk despite the current availability of effective tools to control its spread.
