Regional progress accelerates in hepatitis control and elimination of mother to child transmission of HIV and syphilis

Third meeting of the Regional Validation Committee (RVC) for hepatitis, HIV and syphilis, Cairo, 12-13 November 2025

8 December 2025, Cairo, Egypt - The World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean convened the third meeting of the Regional Validation Committee (RVC) for hepatitis, HIV and syphilis. The meeting, which took place in Cairo on 12-13 November 2025, brought together Committee members and technical experts to review country reports and assess progress against regional validation criteria.

The opening session, chaired by Dr Hamid Jafari, Director of Polio Eradication and Vaccine-Preventable Diseases, and Dr Nevin Wilson, speaking on behalf of the Director of Communicable Disease Control, reaffirmed the Region's commitment to advancing elimination efforts in line with global and regional strategies, including updated WHO guidance on triple elimination of mother-to-child transmission. The session outlined the objectives of evaluating country submissions, determining eligibility for validation when criteria are met and providing targeted guidance to strengthen national pathways towards elimination.

Participants received updates on the newly released guidance, along with modelled estimates suggesting that 10 countries in the Region are likely to have achieved the target of reducing hepatitis B prevalence in children under 5 years of age. The discussions provided a strong technical foundation for the evidence reviews that followed.

Country presentations offered detailed documentation for assessment. Kuwait shared its national hepatitis B serosurvey approach, which prompted substantive discussion and was highlighted as a valuable model for regional learning. Other Member States presented evidence packages, including Oman's sustained elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis; Morocco's achievement of hepatitis B control; and submissions from Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United Arab Emirates. Committee members reviewed serosurvey designs, programme performance, perinatal prevention measures and human-rights considerations, all critical to the validation process.

Following a comprehensive review of submissions, the Committee validated:

Oman's maintenance of elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis;

Morocco's achievement of hepatitis B control; and

pending submission of additional information, Saudi Arabia's achievement of hepatitis B control.

The meeting concluded with country-specific recommendations to accelerate validation readiness alongside broader actions to strengthen surveillance, improve data generation and ensure equitable access to prevention, testing and treatment.

WHO reaffirmed its commitment to supporting Member States in advancing hepatitis elimination and the prevention of mother-to-child transmission goals and acknowledged the contributions of Committee members and national teams throughout the review process.