Egypt first globally to maintain Gold Tier for hepatitis C elimination

The World Health Organization (WHO) has officially validated Egypt’s maintenance of its Gold Tier status on the path to hepatitis C elimination, making it the first country in the world to receive this recognition.

The validation follows an assessment covering 2023–2025 and an endorsement by the WHO Regional Validation Committee on HIV, Hepatitis and Sexually Transmitted Infections in July 2026.

Sustaining progress toward elimination:

Egypt achieved WHO Gold Tier status in 2023 after reducing hepatitis C prevalence from around 10% to less than 0.38% in just over a decade, meeting the organization’s validation criteria for progress toward elimination.

Maintaining this status reflects the Ministry of Health and Population’s continued efforts to sustain effective prevention, testing, treatment and follow-up services, while strengthening surveillance and health systems to prevent a resurgence of the disease.

Building on nationwide screening campaign:

Egypt’s achievement builds on the 100 Million Seha (Healthy Lives) campaign, which screened more than 60 million people and provided hepatitis C treatment to more than 4.5 million.

The campaign demonstrated the impact of high-level political commitment and a whole-of-government approach to nationwide screening and accessible treatment, supported by locally produced direct-acting antiviral medicines.

Integrating hepatitis services into healthcare:

During the maintenance period, Egypt shifted from large-scale, campaign-based screening toward a sustainable approach integrated into the national health system.

Key achievements include the continued expansion of hepatitis C screening, diagnosis and treatment; stronger governance under the 2025–2030 National Sustainability Plan for Viral Hepatitis; and the ongoing integration of hepatitis services into primary healthcare and the universal health insurance system.

Egypt has also strengthened laboratory quality systems and disease surveillance while maintaining high safety standards for blood supplies and injections.

WHO supports Egypt’s hepatitis response:

WHO has worked with Egypt throughout its hepatitis C response, providing technical guidance and support to strengthen prevention, testing, treatment and surveillance, and helping translate global evidence and guidelines into action.

The country’s sustained efforts have protected millions of people from infection, helped safeguard families from the loss of loved ones and created opportunities for future generations to lead healthier lives.