Taiwan exceeds key 2030 hepatitis C targets five years early

Taiwan has surpassed the World Health Organization’s 2030 targets for diagnosing and treating hepatitis C, according to its health authorities. By December 2025, 92.4% of people with chronic hepatitis C had been diagnosed, and more than nine in ten of those diagnosed had received treatment.

The progress follows years of work to make testing and care easier to access. By the end of 2025, around 7.86 million people had received publicly funded hepatitis B and C screening. Eligibility expanded that year to adults aged 39 to 79. Taiwan’s national health insurance began covering highly effective oral antiviral medicines in 2017, then removed restrictions based on the extent of liver scarring in 2019.

The programme also extends care to remote and mountainous communities and targets groups at higher risk, including people receiving dialysis and those living with HIV. Health authorities report that liver cancer incidence and death rates have continued to fall alongside the broader strategy, although the reports do not establish how much of that decline is attributable to hepatitis C measures.

Senior health officials described the approach in a letter published online by The Lancet on 9 October. The publication was correspondence, not a new research study. The figures mark important diagnosis and treatment milestones, rather than confirmation that hepatitis C has been eliminated.