Taipei: Taiwan is planning to apply for certification from the World Health Organization (WHO) to recognize its achievements in preventing and treating hepatitis C by the end of this year, President Lai Ching-te announced at a news conference. “We are scheduled to file an application with the WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific to certify the elimination of hepatitis C by the end of this year, to demonstrate to the world Taiwan’s resolve to safeguard public health and share our strategies and experience,” Lai stated.
According to Focus Taiwan, although Taiwan is not a WHO member, Lai expressed confidence in Taiwan’s positioning for such recognition. Taiwan believes it meets the criteria for gold tier certification under the WHO’s “Path to Elimination” framework, which aims to reduce new hepatitis infections by 90 percent and hepatitis-related deaths by 65 percent globally from 2015 levels.
Taiwan has achieved over 90 percent diagnosis and treatment rates and 100 percent blood and injection safety, while providing more than 150 needles and syringes to individuals who inject drugs, according to Shen Ching-fen, director-general of the Health Promotion Administration. The WHO gold tier standard requires 100 percent blood and injection safety coverage, 80 percent diagnosis coverage, and 70 percent treatment coverage, in addition to supplying each person who injects drugs with at least 150 needles and syringes each year.
Despite not achieving complete “elimination,” with 395 cases of acute hepatitis C and eight deaths reported this year, Taiwan has taken significant steps to reduce the disease’s prevalence. These include establishing a national office for hepatitis C prevention and covering new direct-acting antiviral medications under the country’s national health insurance system, which has significantly reduced treatment costs. Since January 2017, about 176,000 Taiwanese citizens have undergone hepatitis C treatment with a cure rate of 98.4 percent.
In 2018, Lai approved the Taiwan Hepatitis C Policy Guidelines, introducing precision public health policies focusing on prevention measures for different demographics. Taiwan might face challenges in the WHO’s country validation system, as the organization does not recognize Taiwan as a country. However, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Chuang Jen-hsiang confirmed that the ministry has informed WHO experts and sent the necessary report in advance.
Hepatitis C, an inflammation of the liver, is commonly contracted through unsafe injections and sexual practices, potentially leading to lifelong illnesses like liver cirrhosis and liver cancer. The WHO estimates that 50 million people worldwide have chronic hepatitis C, with about 1 million new infections annually.
Taiwan, not a WHO member, participated in the World Health Assembly (WHA) as an observer from 2009 to 2016 under the name “Chinese Taipei.” Since 2017, however, Taiwan has been excluded from the WHA due to political pressure from China following the Democratic Progressive Party’s rise to power in 2016.
