Islamabad: Pakistan has emerged as the single largest contributor to the global number of people living with hepatitis C, while also ranking among the 10 countries accounting for most hepatitis C related deaths worldwide, according to the World Health Organization’s ‘Global Hepatitis Report 2026’, raising fresh concerns over unsafe injections, reusable syringes and weak infection prevention practices in the country.
The WHO report says hepatitis B and C remain among the world’s deadliest infections despite being preventable, treatable and, in the case of hepatitis C, curable. Globally, 287 million people were living with chronic hepatitis B or C in 2024, including 240 million with hepatitis B and 47 million with hepatitis C.
Hepatitis B and C caused 1.34 million deaths in 2024, including 1.1 million deaths from hepatitis B and 240,000 from hepatitis C, mostly due to liver cirrhosis and liver cancer. The two infections account for over 95 percent of viral hepatitis related deaths worldwide.
For Pakistan, the most alarming finding is its position in the global hepatitis C burden. The WHO report states that Pakistan “stands out clearly” as the single largest contributor to the global number of people with hepatitis C infection, followed by India and China.
Together, Pakistan, India and China account for around 39 percent of the global hepatitis C burden.
Pakistan is also among the 10 countries that accounted for 58 percent of global hepatitis C related deaths in 2024, along with China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Nigeria, Russia, South Africa, the United States and Vietnam.
The report links the global hepatitis C burden to historical transmission, unsafe medical practices, injecting drug use and gaps in diagnosis and treatment. In Pakistan’s context, this is particularly significant as recent field reporting by The News from different cities found continued availability of banned reusable syringes and fake auto disable syringes, which experts fear can fuel transmission of hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV when used repeatedly by unqualified practitioners.
Health experts say the findings should serve as a warning for Pakistan, where unnecessary injections remain common, quackery is widespread and infection prevention practices are poorly enforced in both formal and informal healthcare settings.
Fake auto disable syringes, which are sold as safer devices but can still be reused, pose an additional threat because they create a false sense of protection among patients and healthcare providers.
Globally, WHO says 0.9 million new hepatitis B infections and another 0.9 million hepatitis C infections occurred in 2024, meaning 1.8 million new infections in a single year, or more than 4,900 new infections every day. People who inject drugs accounted for 44 percent of new hepatitis C infections globally, but unsafe medical injections and procedures remain a major concern in several high burden countries.
The report says only 20 percent of people with hepatitis C have been treated since 2015, despite the availability of short course curative therapy that can cure more than 95 percent of infections. For hepatitis B, fewer than five percent of the 240 million people living with chronic infection were receiving treatment in 2024.
WHO Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said countries had shown that hepatitis elimination was possible with political commitment and domestic financing, but progress remained too slow and uneven. He warned that many people remained undiagnosed and untreated due to stigma, weak health systems and inequitable access to care.
The report notes that hepatitis B vaccination protects more than 95 percent of vaccinated people, while hepatitis C can be cured with 8 to 12 weeks of direct acting antiviral therapy. However, WHO warned that current progress is insufficient to meet the 2030 elimination targets, which include sharp reductions in new infections and deaths.
For Pakistan, experts say the immediate priorities are mass screening, affordable treatment, strict enforcement against reusable and fake auto disable syringes, regulation of injection practices, stronger blood safety, and action against unqualified practitioners. Without controlling unsafe injections, they warn, Pakistan may continue to treat old hepatitis C cases while generating new ones.
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