Treating hepatitis is cheaper than not

The vaccination of babies against hepatitis B over the last quarter of a century has been one of China's greatest public health success stories. Hundreds of millions of children have been protected from being infected with hepatitis B, massively reducing their risk of developing liver cirrhosis and liver cancer later in life. This is China at its best - a problem was identified, and a determined, methodical, and evidence-based approach was deployed to fix the problem, with remarkable results.

It is now time to apply that same approach to the pressing issue of access to treatment for the tens of millions of people living with chronic hepatitis B or C in China who need treatment right now.

Viral hepatitis is a silent killer. Currently, there are about 100 million Chinese infected with chronic hepatitis B or C, but the majority of those infected are not aware they carry the virus. Up to 3 in 10 of these chronically infected people will go on to develop life-threatening illnesses such as cirrhosis and liver cancer if they do not receive treatment.