Egypt has become the first country to achieve the World Health Organization’s “gold tier” status on the path to elimination of Hepatitis C.
Egypt’s “Gold Tier” Status
- Strict Requirements: In order to qualify for the “gold tier,” Egypt had to meet a number of requirements, such as guaranteeing 100% blood and injection safety, supplying injectable drug users with at least 150 needles or syringes annually, diagnosing and treating more than 80% of people with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV), and setting up a surveillance program for liver cancer and other hepatitis sequelae.
- Exemplary Outcomes: Egypt has surpassed the WHO’s gold tier targets by diagnosing 87% of its hepatitis C patients and treating 93% of those cases with curative therapy.
How did Egypt achieve this?
- “100 Million Healthy Lives” Initiative: According to the Africa CDC, Egypt’s bold program significantly decreased the prevalence of hepatitis C, which was 10% in 2016 and down to 5% in 2018 and less than 1% in 2019. •
- Leadership Role: Egypt offers assistance to other African nations in an effort to duplicate its accomplishments in the eradication of hepatitis C, including expanding access to reasonably priced treatment.
