WHO praises Egypt as global leader in Hepatitis C elimination

CAIRO - 4 May 2026: The World Health Organization (WHO) lauded the Egyptian experience as a leading global model in eliminating Hepatitis C, noting Egypt’s transition from the world’s highest-burden country to the first to achieve "Gold Tier" status in 2023.

In a Monday statement, the cabinet media center cited the 2026 Hepatitis Report, which attributed this success to strong national leadership.

Key achievements included screening over 60 million citizens during 2018 and 2019 under the "100 Million Health" initiative and treating 5.5 million cases by the end of 2020. The report also highlighted the reduction of treatment costs from 900 to 40 dollars through the localization of the pharmaceutical industry.

These efforts resulted in the highest annual diagnosis and treatment rates globally. They contributed to a significant decline in the disease burden within the Eastern Mediterranean region, with cases dropping by approximately 6 million between 2015 and 2024.

Egypt continues its leadership role by sharing expertise and supporting disease-control efforts in countries including Ghana and Pakistan.