The World Health Organization has urged health authorities in Bangladesh to take rapid action to expand hepatitis testing, prevention, and treatment services across the country.
Ahead of World Hepatitis Day on July 28, the United Nations agency warned that millions of individuals globally remain at risk due to persistent barriers in accessing basic medical care.
Bangladesh currently ranks among the top ten countries worldwide with the highest number of people living with chronic hepatitis C.
Chronic viral hepatitis remains a leading infectious killer, causing an estimated 1.3 million deaths globally each year, primarily due to liver cirrhosis and liver cancer.
Hepatitis B and C account for nearly 95 per cent of all viral hepatitis fatalities, causing roughly 6,000 new infections and 3,500 deaths around the world every day.
Across the South-East Asia region, an estimated 43 million people live with the condition, with 200,000 hepatitis-related deaths recorded in 2024 alone.
In Bangladesh, the active hepatitis C infection rate in the general population stands at about 0.6 per cent, with significantly higher rates observed among vulnerable groups, including Rohingya refugees.
The country also faces a heavy burden from hepatitis B, joining a small group of ten nations that collectively accounted for 69 percent of global hepatitis B deaths in 2024.
WHO Representative to Bangladesh Ahmed Jamsheed Mohamed noted that while hepatitis B is preventable and hepatitis C is curable, too many patients receive late diagnoses or miss out on care altogether.
Health officials have outlined four key priority areas to eliminate the disease as a public health threat in Bangladesh by 2030.
The first step focuses on maintaining high vaccination coverage, including early birth doses for newborns, alongside strict blood transfusion screening and public awareness campaigns.
Second, health providers must integrate hepatitis screening into routine primary care, maternity clinics, blood banks, and existing HIV and tuberculosis programmes.
Third, authorities need to decentralise medical services by making simple hepatitis C cures available outside specialist hospitals and ensuring that affordable medicines reach local communities.
Finally, by strengthening routine data collection and disease tracking, health planners will be better able to monitor progress, identify high-risk populations, and guide future investment.
Representative Ahmed Jamsheed Mohamed reaffirmed that the organisation will continue offering technical assistance to support the government's 2030 health goals.
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