World Hepatitis Day 2026 urges political will and public awareness to end hepatitis by 2030

World Hepatitis Day is observed on 28 July 2026 with the theme “Hepatitis: Let’s Break It Down.” The campaign highlights the need to eliminate viral hepatitis as a public‑health threat by 2030, calling for stronger political commitment, sustained funding and integrated delivery systems.

In the WHO South‑East Asia region, which carries 14 % of the global hepatitis‑B and hepatitis‑C burden, progress includes the Maldives achieving the world’s first triple elimination of mother‑to‑child transmission of HIV, syphilis and hepatitis B, and Thailand and Sri Lanka eliminating mother‑to‑child transmission of HIV and syphilis. WHO officials such as Dr Po‑Lin Chan stress that scaling proven tools—multiplex diagnostics, self‑testing, oral and long‑acting injectable PrEP, digital health and AI‑assisted screening—requires convergent, multi‑disease programmes that address underlying drivers like undernutrition, poverty and catastrophic health costs.

The observance also seeks to dismantle barriers to testing and treatment, including misinformation, stigma, financial constraints and uneven access to care, urging nations to simplify public dialogue and expand vaccination, screening and affordable therapy.