Egypt achieves WHO gold level status in hepatitis C elimination efforts

The Egyptian Cabinet's media center has highlighted the nation's progress in combating hepatitis C, noting that the World Health Organization has renewed Egypt's gold level accreditation on the path to eliminating the virus, effective October 2026.

Since 2008, when infection rates were approximately 10 percent, Egypt has implemented significant public health initiatives, most notably the “100 Million Healthy Lives” presidential initiative launched in 2018. This program screened roughly 63 million people aged 12 and older and treated 4 million patients, reducing the prevalence rate to below 0.38 percent.

Between 2023 and 2025, additional efforts included screening 16.5 million more people and increasing diagnostic coverage to 87.3 percent. These measures have contributed to a 54 percent decrease in hepatitis C-related deaths compared to 2018 levels.