Hepatitis B control in the South-East Asia Region
Overview
Hepatitis B control in the South-East Asia Region
In 2016, the SEA Region's immunization technical advisory group (ITAG) endorsed a regional hepatitis B control goal to reach ≤1% prevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) among 5-year old children by 2020. This is in line with the 2020 goal set by the Global Health Sector Strategy on Viral Hepatitis (GHSSVH). The GHSSVH also calls for a 30% reduction in new cases and 10% reduction in mortality by 2020.
By 2016, all 11 countries in the Region are providing hepatitis B vaccine in their routine immunization schedules as part of combination vaccines, and eight countries (Bhutan, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, India, Indonesia, Maldives, Myanmar, Thailand, and Timor-Leste) have introduced a universal hepatitis B vaccine birth dose.