Gangshan Branch of Zuoying Armed Forces General Hospital

Dr. Chung-Liang Shih
Minister of Health and Welfare, Taiwan

For decades, hepatitis C has been recognised as a major global public health challenge, with an estimated 58 million people living with chronic hepatitis C infection worldwide. Although no vaccine exists, hepatitis C is now curable with highly effective direct-acting antiviral (DAA) therapies delivered through treatment courses of 8–12 weeks. Therefore, in 2015, the World Health Organization (WHO) set ambitious goals to eliminate viral hepatitis as a public health threat by 2030 in its Glasgow Declaration on Viral Hepatitis.

Taiwan is now one of few countries that meets the WHO’s top standard for actions taken to eliminate hepatitis C, the gold tier under the Path to Elimination framework. This progress has been driven by the government’s political will and the systematic integration of hepatitis prevention, screening, diagnosis, and treatment into a universal health-care system.

Through Taiwan’s Adult Preventive Health Checkup Service Program for hepatitis B and C, as well as the National Health Insurance programme for DAA reimbursement, hepatitis C screening and treatment are widely available, reducing financial and structural barriers to care. As of June 2025, an estimated 90.2% of individuals with chronic hepatitis C have received diagnoses, and 92.6% of those with diagnoses have received DAA treatment, exceeding the WHO PTE Gold Tier benchmarks.

Prevention and patient safety remain indispensable to hepatitis C elimination. Taiwan maintains 100% screening of donated blood and 100% safe medical injection practices. Comprehensive harm reduction programmes are also provided to ensure wide access to sterile injecting equipment for people who inject drugs, with more than 150 syringes distributed per person. These measures are essential to reducing new infections and safeguarding elimination gains over time.

Consistent with the WHO and Sustainable Development Goals’ principle Leave No One Behind, Taiwan has focused on populations facing higher risks and greater barriers to care. High screening coverage and treatment rates have been achieved among people living with HIV, patients with end-stage renal disease, individuals receiving opioid agonist therapy, and prisoners in correctional facilities. These outcomes reflect that equity, one of the WHO’s core values, is at the heart of our healthcare systems.

Over the past two decades, Taiwan has observed a substantial decline in liver cancer

incidence and mortality, trends closely linked to long-standing hepatitis prevention and treatment policies. These achievements, presented to the WHO in the Taiwan Hepatitis C Elimination Report, are the result of close cross-sectoral collaboration among central and local governments, public health authorities, clinical providers, and civil society organisations. Taiwan’s success is also supported by robust surveillance systems and transparent data reporting.

As 2030 and the target deadline for the global elimination of hepatitis C nears, the Taiwan model offers clear evidence that elimination is achievable when science, political will, and equity converge The Taiwan Hepatitis C Elimination Report has been submitted to the WHO Western Pacific Regional Office (WPRO) for validation under the PTE Gold Tier for hepatitis C elimination. We look forward to the recognition of Taiwan’s leadership and contributions to advancing hepatitis C elimination. Taiwan remains committed to working with the international community and sharing our experience to help accelerate progress toward a world free from hepatitis C.

Data URL link：https://www.hpa.gov.tw/EngPages/Detail.aspx?nodeid=1051&pid=20030