Setting the Scene: An Urgent Call to Action
From 28 to 30 April 2026, global health leaders, researchers, policymakers, and advocates gathered in Bangkok, Thailand, for the bi-annual World Hepatitis Summit (WHS). Hosted by the World Hepatitis Alliance (WHA), this summit holds a unique and vital distinction: it is the only global-level conference in the hepatitis field that integrates dedicated community-led sessions and actively prioritises the participation of affected populations.
The theme for this year's summit was as uncompromising as it was urgent:
"Elimination for everyone, everywhere, right now!"
This stands in stark, deliberate contrast to the highly technical theme of the 2024 summit, "Integrate, Accelerate, Eliminate". The change in tone reflects a sobering reality. According to the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) latest global reports, there is currently no concrete evidence to suggest that the world is on track to meet the goal of eliminating viral hepatitis as a public health threat by 2030.
To bridge this gap, we must look beyond clinical statistics. We need to look at the people behind them.
A T-Shirt at the Podium: Putting the 'Person' Back in Public Health
The tone of the summit was beautifully captured during the opening ceremony. The final speaker to take the stage was Dee, the current President of the World Hepatitis Alliance.
Instead of formal attire, Dee walked up to the podium wearing a custom-made T-shirt, designed and printed just the night before. As a person living with viral hepatitis, Dee’s outfit was a quiet but powerful statement of identity and solidarity.
This reflects the core philosophy of the WHA. Since its founding in 2016, the organisation's constitution has mandated that all seven members of its board must be individuals living with hepatitis. This ensures that the global advocacy movement is always guided by genuine, lived experience—nothing about us, without us.
Before Dee spoke, the stage had been occupied by high-level dignitaries, including World Health Organisation officials and the Minister of Public Health for Thailand. They were dressed in sharp suits, presenting slick slideshows filled with financial budgets, strategic roadmaps, milestones, and countdowns to the 2030 elimination targets.
Their speeches were rich in data and administrative terminology. Yet, they lacked a crucial element: the actual human beings living with the condition.
Dee’s presentation shifted the focus. By standing at the podium as an open carrier of the virus, wearing a simple T-shirt, they reminded the room that behind every data point is a human life, and behind every budget line is a story of survival, struggle, and dignity.
Inside the "Tree Hole": Whispered Truths and Silent Struggles
To capture these human stories, our team set up a "Tree Hole"—a private, comfortable audio booth at the conference venue designed for attendees to anonymously record their personal experiences, feelings, and hopes regarding viral hepatitis.
On the second day, a woman from Indonesia walked past the booth. I noticed her lingering, her eyes reflecting a mixture of curiosity, hesitation, and a profound, quiet strength.
I warmly invited her inside to share her story. However, less than ten seconds after entering, she stepped back out. With an apologetic smile, she told me she needed a little more time to gather her thoughts.
"I have so much I want to say," she explained softly. "I must treat this recording with the utmost care and seriousness. But I promise you, I will be back."
I smiled, thanked her, and assured her we would be there for the duration of the summit. In truth, a small part of me was sceptical. In the fast-paced environment of a global summit, many people make polite promises only to vanish into the crowds, never to return.
But an hour later, she proved me wrong. She walked straight back to our booth.
With immense pride, she told me that to ensure her message reached as many people as possible, she had decided to record her testimony twice—once in Indonesian and once in English. I was deeply moved by her dedication; we had hit the jackpot of human connection.
She stayed in that cramped, quiet booth for a very long time. It felt as though she was unloading the accumulated emotional weight of her entire life into that microphone.
When she finally emerged, her eyes were red and watery.
I stepped forward and offered her a warm embrace. "You cannot imagine how powerful your share will be," I told her. "Your voice is going to change things. Thank you so much."
This small act of validation broke down her remaining barriers. Clinging to that embrace, she began to pour her heart out to me. She spoke of the suffocating, relentless loneliness that followed her diagnosis. She described the exact moment she found out she had Hepatitis B, and the terrifying, overwhelming feeling that "the sky was falling down" around her.
Hearing her, I was reminded of how universal this initial despair is. The fear of viral hepatitis is rarely just about the physical illness; it is about the social shadow it casts.
Beyond Biomedicine: Why Science is Only Half the Battle
Modern medicine has achieved miracles in the fight against viral hepatitis:
- We have highly effective preventive vaccines.
- We have treatments for Hepatitis A, B, D, and E.
- We have a definitive, accessible cure for Hepatitis C.
On paper, we possess all the biomedical tools required to eradicate this disease from the face of the Earth. Why, then, are we still failing to meet our 2030 elimination targets?
The answer lies in the human and social barriers that science alone cannot cure:
- The Wall of Stigma: Millions of people refuse to get tested or seek treatment because they are terrified of the social ostracisation, discrimination, and shame associated with a positive diagnosis.
- Mental Health Neglect: A diagnosis often triggers severe anxiety, depression, and isolation. When health systems focus strictly on distributing pills and vaccines while ignoring psychological support, patients slip through the cracks.
- Systemic Inequality: Life-saving medicines are useless if they remain trapped behind administrative hurdles, high costs, or geographical barriers that keep them out of reach for marginalized and underserved communities.
If we want to eliminate viral hepatitis, we must treat the person, not just the virus.
Conclusion: Elimination Requires Empathy
As the World Hepatitis Summit 2026 drew to a close, the echoes of the "Tree Hole" recordings lingered in the halls of Bangkok. They served as a vital reminder to the global health community:
we cannot vaccinate against stigma, and we cannot cure loneliness with an antiviral tablet.
Achieving "elimination for everyone, everywhere, right now" requires us to dismantle the social walls of discrimination, invest heavily in community-led support networks, and integrate mental health care directly into routine primary health services.
Only when we pair cutting-edge medical science with radical, human-centred empathy will we finally bring an end to the viral hepatitis epidemic. It is time to listen to the voices in the tree hole, look at the people behind the data, and make the 2030 goal a reality for everyone.