A silent epidemic

For a disease that claims approximately 1.3 million lives every year, viral hepatitis receives remarkably little attention. It neither dominates political discourse nor commands the urgency accorded to pandemics that make headlines overnight. Yet hepatitis B and C continue to kill silently, often after years of undetected infection. Pakistan's decision to use the UN platform to rally international support for stronger global action against viral hepatitis was therefore both timely and necessary.

The timing of the diplomatic push could hardly have been more significant. WHO's Global Hepatitis Report 2026 elucidates that the world is falling behind on its promise to eliminate viral hepatitis by 2030. While the tools to prevent, diagnose and cure the disease already exist, progress remains dangerously off track. Around 287 million people worldwide continue to live with chronic hepatitis B or C, while treatment coverage remains alarmingly inadequate. Millions who have already been diagnosed are still waiting for life-saving therapy, and preventable deaths continue to mount. For Pakistan, however, the report carries an even grimmer message. The country now has the world's largest population living with hepatitis C, with an estimated nine million infections, and ranks among the ten countries responsible for the overwhelming majority of global hepatitis C-related deaths.

The government's response deserves cautious recognition. The Prime Minister's Programme for the Elimination of Hepatitis C, backed by an investment of $250 million and implemented in partnership with WHO, is a welcome initiative. The decision to place the prime minister himself at the head of the National Task Force signals that the issue is finally receiving attention at the highest political level. If implemented effectively, the programme has the potential to become one of Pakistan's most significant public health interventions in decades.