Egypt Achieves Historic Milestone: First Nation to Maintain WHO's Hepatitis C Elimination Gold Status

Egypt has made history by becoming the first country globally to successfully retain the World Health Organization’s (WHO) gold-tier status on its journey toward eliminating hepatitis C. This significant achievement follows a comprehensive review of the nation's robust national prevention, testing, and treatment programs.

The WHO officially confirmed Egypt's recognition on Wednesday, after evaluating the country's progress between 2023 and 2025. The assessment, which was subsequently approved by the organization’s regional validation committee in July 2026, underscores Egypt's sustained commitment to combating the virus.

Egypt initially attained gold-tier status in 2023, a remarkable feat achieved by reducing hepatitis C prevalence from approximately 10 percent to less than 0.38 percent in just over a decade. This success is largely attributed to the nationwide '100 Million Healthy Lives' campaign, an initiative that successfully screened over 60 million individuals and provided crucial treatment to more than 4.5 million hepatitis C patients.

According to the WHO, Egypt has since transitioned from large-scale screening campaigns to integrating hepatitis C testing, diagnosis, and treatment into its permanent healthcare system. The country has also broadened access to hepatitis services through primary healthcare facilities and its universal health insurance scheme. Furthermore, significant improvements have been made in disease surveillance, laboratory standards, and blood safety measures.

These ongoing efforts are bolstered by a national plan designed to sustain progress towards the elimination of viral hepatitis, with specific measures outlined for the period of 2025–2030. The WHO has acknowledged its role in providing essential technical support to Egypt throughout its hepatitis C program, contributing to enhancements in prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and monitoring.