The Viral Hepatitis Prevention Board (VHPB) proudly endorses World Hepatitis Day, marked every year on 28 July. This year’s WHO theme, “Hepatitis: Let’s Break It Down,” calls for the removal of the financial, social and systemic barriers — including stigma — that that prevent people from accessing prevention, testing, treatment and vaccination services essential to eliminating viral hepatitis.

VHPB remains dedicated to advancing evidence-based policies and practices for the prevention and control of viral hepatitis across Europe. On World Hepatitis Day and throughout the year, we will continue to support knowledge sharing, collaboration and advocacy to accelerate progress towards hepatitis elimination.

To mark this occasion, we are pleased to highlight the latest VHPB news, developments and activities:

Follow-up: VHPB technical meeting on viral hepatitis in Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan

World Hepatitis Day is also a moment to follow up on our recent technical meeting, “Viral Hepatitis in Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan – Prevention and Control of Viral Hepatitis as Cancer Prevention Opportunities,” held on 27–28 March 2025 in Antwerp, Belgium.

The meeting built on the launch of the European Code against Cancer, which sets out 14 evidence-based recommendations to help prevent cancer — including recommendations addressing cancer-causing infections and the interventions that reduce that risk, such as hepatitis B vaccination and hepatitis C testing and treatment. All 14 recommendations are summarised  in fact sheets and policy briefs, recently available in every European language, via the IARC/WHO knowledge translation portal:

👉 cancer-code-europe.iarc.who.int/knowledge-translation

We encourage members and partners to consult and share these resources, which offer a practical bridge between hepatitis prevention and Europe’s wider cancer prevention agenda.

Looking ahead: upcoming VHPB activities

Next technical meeting — October 2026 – VHPB’s next technical meeting, “Addressing Hepatitis A in Europe in 2026 – Challenges, Strategies, and Opportunities,” will take place as a hybrid meeting hosted from Antwerp, Belgium. The meeting will examine current epidemiological trends, outbreak preparedness, and strategies to strengthen hepatitis A prevention and control across the region.

European projects VHPB is contributing to

• HepHOP (Health Equity Programme: Hepatitis Outreach for Migrant Populations) — a major EU4Health-funded initiative, developed under Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan, working to reduce health inequalities in viral hepatitis by improving outreach, testing and care for migrant populations across Europe.
• Shield-JA — a Joint Action advancing the prevention of infection-related cancers through vaccination and complementary prevention strategies, reinforcing the direct link between hepatitis prevention and cancer prevention.