Building capacity among Member States
Overview
WHO released Global health sector strategy on hepatitis (2016-2020) in 2016 providing guidance to countries for elimination of hepatitis as a public health problem by 2030 and providing five strategic directions to achieve the same with clear 2020 and 2030 targets. In line with the global strategy, WHO SEARO organized a Regional Workshop on Scaling up Health Sector Response to Viral Hepatitis in South-East Asia Region in New Delhi, India in April 2017 with the objective to review progress and develop action plans for scaling up health sector response for Viral Hepatitis in South-East Asia Region (SEAR). The country experiences on innovations for advocacy, community engagement, service delivery and resource mobilization were also discussed in this workshop. The expected outcome of the meeting was to develop a framework of action for scaling up viral hepatitis health sector response in Member States with timelines and resource needs identified.
Key facts
Only 9% of the hepatitis B virus infected and 20% of hepatitis C virus infected persons have been diagnosed.
Access to affordable hepatitis testing and treatment is limited and needs to be expanded
Hepatitis B can be easily prevented by vaccination