A LONG JOURNEY: Years before implementing its hepatitis C elimination plan, Taiwan had already started expanding screening and treatment, the HPA head said
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By Lee I-chia / Staff reporter
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Taiwan is to apply for WHO certification by the end of this year for meeting the global body’s hepatitis C elimination goal five years ahead of schedule, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday.
Taiwan was the first country to launch a universal hepatitis B vaccination program for newborns in 1984, becoming a model for the WHO’s global recommendations of vaccination for all infants, and also contributed to the significant progress of global hepatitis B management, Lai said.
“This year, Taiwan is expected to mark a new milestone in the history of global public health — having achieved the WHO’s hepatitis C elimination goal for 2030 five years early, leading the way in Asia and ranking among the best [in healthcare] in the world,” the president said.
From front left, Minister Without Portfolio Chen Shih-chung, President William Lai and former vice president Chen Chien-jen pose for a photograph at a news conference in Taipei.
Photo: Tien Yu-hua, Taipei Times
Taiwan met the goal by integrating multiple disciplines and through years of hard work by national and local health agencies, health facilities, civic groups and the cooperation of the public, he said.
Since eligibility for effective oral direct-acting antiviral (DAA) regimens was expanded in 2017, more than 176,000 people have received the treatment, with a success rate of 98.4 percent, while cross-ministerial and public-private collaborations have helped Taiwan’s prevention strategies to become more innovative and efficient, Lai said.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare in 2018 established a national plan for the elimination of hepatitis C, Health Promotion Administration Director-General Shen Ching-fen (沈靜芬) said.
The plan includes the core strategies of precision public health and prevention, continuum of care services and localized care delivery, she said.
Due to regional disparities in hepatitis C prevalence, the government implemented different prevention and control strategies, and allocated different resources to general areas, high-risk areas, special high-risk groups, and rural areas and outlying islands, she said.
Hepatitis B and C screening was included in publicly funded health exams for adults in 2011, oral DAA regimens for effective treatment of chronic hepatitis C (HCV) infection was added to National Health Insurance coverage in 2017 and the government in 2018 significantly expanded funding for hepatitis C treatment, Shen said.
Eligibility for screening was further expanded in 2020, while cross-ministerial collaboration in 2021 enabled screening to be offered for people in correctional institutions (where prevalence rates are significantly higher), while a cost-efficient HCV core antigen testing was introduced and an ad hoc task force was established in 2023, she said.
