Taiwan to apply for WHO hepatitis C certification this year

Taipei, Aug. 7 (CNA) Taiwan will apply for World Health Organization (WHO) hepatitis C certification in November or December after achieving its 2030 target, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW).

According to an MOHW report on Thursday, Taiwan has already met the WHO's 2030 hepatitis C elimination benchmarks.

The ministry said that both diagnosis and treatment rates exceed 90 percent among Taiwanese aged 45-84, and the country has reached 100 percent of WHO targets for safe medical injections and blood transfusions.

Taiwan's efforts have been recognized by the Asia-Pacific Association for the Study of the Liver (APAC), which gave the country the highest rating in four areas: national action plans, financial support, policy commitment and implementation, the MOHW said.

Since 2017, Taiwan's National Health Insurance (NHI) has covered direct-acting antiviral (DAA) treatments, initially limited to patients with a certain level of liver fibrosis, the MOHW said.

The ministry added that DAA coverage was fully expanded in 2019 to include all people with chronic hepatitis C.

Screening policies have also been broadened, the MOHW said, with the minimum age lowered to people aged 39 and older in August.