[Progress, challenges and countermeasures of global hepatitis C elimination]

Recently, global hepatitis C testing and treatment have made some progress with the popularization of direct-acting antiviral drugs (DAAs), application of new detection technologies and service models. By 2017, 5 million hepatitis C patients had received DAA treatment, which has surpassed the 2020 treatment target set by the World Health Organization's hepatitis strategy. However, on a global scale, the scope of hepatitis C testing and treatment remains severely inadequate, especially in countries with a high burden of hepatitis C and low-and middle-income countries. In addition, the coverage of harm reduction interventions for injecting drug users is low and the progress is slow. Therefore, achieving the goal of eliminating hepatitis C by 2030 is a huge challenge. Overcoming barriers to prevention and treatment, thereby accelerating progress in eliminating hepatitis C, depends on the strong political will, increasing fund, epidemic and prevention analysis based on the deeper implementation of existing effective measures and rapid use and promotion of new detection and treatment tools. Importantly, Universal Health Coverage (UHC) provides an opportunity to countermeasures the challenges and expands effective prevention and control measures.