World Hepatitis Day 2026: India's 8-Year NVHCP in Focus

What Is Viral Hepatitis — and Why Does It Kill So Many People?

Hepatitis means inflammation of the liver. There are five main hepatitis viruses — types A, B, C, D, and E — but Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C are the ones that cause the most long-term harm. Both can become chronic, silently damaging the liver over years or decades before symptoms appear. The end stages — liver cirrhosis (scarring) and hepatocellular carcinoma (liver cancer) — can be fatal.

<cite index="128-1">Viral hepatitis B and C — the two infections responsible for 95 percent of hepatitis-related deaths worldwide — claimed 1.34 million lives in 2024, with more than 4,900 new infections occurring every day.</cite>

<cite index="123-1">As of 2024, an estimated 240 million people worldwide were living with chronic Hepatitis B infection, and 47 million with Hepatitis C.</cite> The tragedy embedded in those numbers is that Hepatitis B is vaccine-preventable and Hepatitis C is now curable with a short course of direct-acting antiviral medicines — yet the WHO's 2026 Global Hepatitis Report warns that current rates of progress are insufficient to meet the 2030 elimination targets.

India is part of that gap. <cite index="128-1">Ten countries — including India — accounted for 69 percent of Hepatitis B-related deaths worldwide in 2024.</cite>

What Is the NVHCP and What Has It Achieved?

India launched the National Viral Hepatitis Control Programme (NVHCP) on World Hepatitis Day, 28 July 2018. <cite index="114-1">The programme reflects India's commitment to eliminating viral hepatitis as a public health threat by 2030, in line with Sustainable Development Goal Target 3.3.</cite>

The NVHCP is built around four pillars: prevention, screening, diagnosis, and treatment. Its core promise to patients is that free diagnostics and drugs are available to all who need them — a commitment that places India among a small number of countries offering this at scale.

Eight years in, the numbers are substantial:

<cite index="133-1">More than 21 crore beneficiaries have been screened, while over 6 lakh patients have received free treatment under the programme. The programme has exceeded its target of establishing one treatment centre in every district, with 1,153 treatment centres now operational nationwide, including over 70 specialised centres providing advanced care.</cite>

On the maternal health front: <cite index="132-1">more than 7.64 crore pregnant women have been screened, while 2.24 lakh newborns born to Hepatitis B-positive mothers have received Hepatitis B Immunoglobulin (HBIG)</cite> — a crucial intervention that prevents transmission from mother to child at the moment of highest risk.

The programme does not operate in isolation. <cite index="117-1">The National AIDS Control Programme supports outreach to high-risk populations, while the Universal Immunisation Programme provides the Hepatitis B birth dose and vaccination of healthcare workers.</cite> This convergence matters — hepatitis does not exist in a silo, and neither can its control.

Hepatitis B and C in India: The Epidemiological Picture

India's hepatitis burden is significant but heterogeneous — meaning it varies considerably by geography, population group, and risk factor.

<cite index="120-1">India's 2021 HIV Sentinel Surveillance found that approximately 0.85 percent of samples tested positive for Hepatitis B and 0.29 percent for Hepatitis C — meaning roughly one in 118 people tested positive for Hepatitis B and one in 345 for Hepatitis C.</cite>

These are seroprevalence estimates — figures from a tested population — and may undercount the true burden, since large numbers of infected people have never been tested. Hepatitis B in particular is known as a "silent" infection: most people with chronic Hepatitis B have no symptoms for years or decades, making voluntary testing critical to detection.

High-risk groups for Hepatitis C in India include people who inject drugs (IDUs), those who have received blood transfusions before mandatory screening was standardised, patients on long-term dialysis, and healthcare workers with occupational exposure. For Hepatitis B, in addition to these groups, sexual transmission and mother-to-child transmission at birth are significant routes.

[REVIEWER: add clinical insight here — e.g., which patient populations you most commonly encounter with undiagnosed chronic Hepatitis B or C in your clinical practice in India, and what the typical presentation looks like at the time of first diagnosis]

Why 2030 Is the Deadline — and What Achieving It Requires

The WHO set 2030 as the target year for eliminating viral hepatitis as a public health threat, defined as reducing new Hepatitis B infections by 90 percent and hepatitis-related deaths by 65 percent compared to 2015 levels. India has aligned its own national target with this global deadline.

<cite index="128-1">The WHO's Global Hepatitis Report 2026 acknowledges significant gains since 2015 — including a 32 percent drop in new Hepatitis B infections globally and a 12 percent fall in Hepatitis C-related deaths — but warns that progress is insufficient to meet all 2030 targets.</cite>

For India, several specific gaps remain:

The "missing millions" problem. Screening has reached 21 crore people, but the actual population at risk — and particularly those already chronically infected — is far larger. Many infected individuals remain undetected, untreated, and unknowingly transmitting the virus.

Linkage to care. Screening alone does not save lives. A person who tests positive needs to be connected to diagnosis, specialist evaluation, and treatment — a chain that requires active follow-up, not just a positive test result at a camp. The government has called for intensified use of the NVHCP Case-Based Management Information System (CPMIS), integrated with the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM), to strengthen patient tracking and follow-up.

Birth-dose vaccination coverage. Hepatitis B vaccination at birth — within 24 hours of delivery — is the single most effective prevention tool against mother-to-child transmission. Universal coverage of the birth dose, particularly in home deliveries and in states with weaker immunisation infrastructure, remains an ongoing challenge.

Hepatitis C: no vaccine, but a cure. Unlike Hepatitis B, there is no vaccine against Hepatitis C. But it is curable with a short course of direct-acting antivirals (DAAs), and the government provides these free under the NVHCP. The barrier is finding the people who need it — which requires active case-finding in high-risk populations rather than waiting for patients to self-present.

[REVIEWER: add clinical insight here — e.g., from your experience managing patients with chronic Hepatitis B or C, what the most common points of failure in the care cascade are, and what interventions have helped bridge the gap between diagnosis and treatment completion in your setting]

What Individuals Should Know

Hepatitis B and C can be completely silent for years. The absence of symptoms does not mean the liver is healthy. If you have ever had an unsafe blood transfusion, shared needles, or have a mother who was Hepatitis B-positive, getting tested is a straightforward and potentially life-saving step.

Free testing and treatment are available under NVHCP. India's 1,153 NVHCP treatment centres provide free diagnostics and medicines. Locate the nearest centre through your district hospital or the NVHCP portal.

Hepatitis B vaccination is free and part of the Universal Immunisation Programme. Infants receive it as part of the standard vaccination schedule. Unvaccinated adults — especially healthcare workers — should speak to their doctor about catch-up vaccination.

Hepatitis C is curable. With direct-acting antivirals, Hepatitis C can be eliminated from the body in 8–12 weeks in most patients. Getting tested is the critical first step.

FAQ

What is the theme of World Hepatitis Day 2026? The global theme for World Hepatitis Day 2026, observed on 28 July, is "Hepatitis: Let's Break It Down." It is a call to remove the barriers — awareness, access, cost, stigma — that prevent people from getting hepatitis testing, treatment, and care before serious liver damage occurs.

What is the NVHCP and is treatment really free? The National Viral Hepatitis Control Programme (NVHCP) was launched by the Government of India in 2018. It provides free screening, diagnostics, and medicines for Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C through government facilities. As of 2026, over 1,153 treatment centres are operational across India, including specialised sites providing advanced care. Treatment is free at these centres.

What are the symptoms of chronic Hepatitis B or C? Most people with chronic Hepatitis B or C have no noticeable symptoms for years or even decades. When symptoms do appear, they may include fatigue, jaundice (yellowing of the skin or eyes), abdominal discomfort in the upper right side, and dark urine. Because the infection is often silent, testing is the only way to know for certain.

Can Hepatitis C be cured? Yes. Hepatitis C can now be cured in most patients with a short course of direct-acting antiviral (DAA) medicines — typically 8 to 12 weeks — with cure rates exceeding 95 percent in clinical trials. There is currently no vaccine against Hepatitis C, making early detection and treatment the primary prevention tool.

How does India plan to eliminate hepatitis by 2030? India's 2030 elimination goal, aligned with Sustainable Development Goal Target 3.3, is being pursued through the NVHCP — which integrates screening, vaccination, free treatment, digital patient tracking, and antenatal programmes. Key priorities include 100 percent screening of pregnant women for Hepatitis B, HBIG administration to newborns of positive mothers, and identifying every infected individual and linking them to care.