When we speak about liver disease, statistics can seem overwhelming. Numbers climb into the millions; lives reduced to data points. But sometimes a single life tells the story of an entire nation’s struggle.
Many in the Arab world remember Abdel Halim Hafez, the legendary Egyptian singer whose voice still moves hearts across generations. He suffered liver damage from schistosomiasis, the most pressing health challenge in Egypt during his lifetime, and died in 1977, at just 47 years old. His voice was silenced by complications we know how to prevent and treat today.
Decades ago, Egypt fought hard against schistosomiasis through mass treatment campaigns. Yet because needles and syringes were reused at scale, those same efforts spread another, then-unknown disease: hepatitis C. By the 1990s, with testing finally available, Egypt discovered that it carried the highest prevalence of hepatitis C in the world.
That story could have ended in despair. Instead, it became one of the greatest public health turnarounds in modern history. In 2018, Egypt launched the largest hepatitis screening and treatment campaign ever undertaken: “100 Million Healthy Lives.” Millions were tested. Millions were treated. Today, Egypt has achieved gold-tier elimination status. What was once deemed impossible is now a global model.
And Egypt’s success is already inspiring others. Pakistan has set an ambitious target: to test and treat half its hepatitis C population by 2027. This bold vision deserves full global support.
But elimination must be a priority for the entire Eastern Mediterranean Region, where 27 million people are living with chronic hepatitis, 12 million with hepatitis C, and 15 million with hepatitis B. In 2022 alone, nearly 270,000 new infections were recorded, and almost 100,000 people lost their lives. Each of those lives - like Abdel Halim’s - was cut short by a preventable disease.
In 2024, our Region delivered half of all hepatitis C treatments worldwide - a tremendous achievement. So, the lesson is clear: elimination is possible. What is needed now is solidarity, investment, and political will across borders. Because elimination is not only about saving lives today, it is about protecting futures, safeguarding economies, and achieving health equity.
On Monday, I will share this message with health leaders gathering at the UN General Assembly for the Fourth Annual Meeting of the UN Group of Friends to Eliminate Hepatitis: we cannot allow more lives to be silenced by a preventable disease. By acting together, we can save millions of lives and rewrite millions of stories.
Abdel Halim’s songs still echo across the Arab world. Let us ensure that no more voices are lost to hepatitis, and that future generations inherit a world free of this disease.
