His remarks came during an event in Tehran marking World Hepatitis Day, attended by WHO officials and other global health agencies.

Iran’s elimination strategy, Raisi said, hinges on expanded testing, free treatment, and full insurance coverage. “This is not a slogan. It’s a national commitment,” he said, calling the program a “strategic pledge” backed by multiple ministries, universities, and civil agencies.

He said Iran hopes to hit bronze-level certification first, then silver and eventually gold — by meeting WHO benchmarks.

To earn bronze, countries must identify at least 60% of patients and treat 40% of them. Silver and gold require 70/60 and 80/70 splits respectively. Raisi said Iran has already made headway in key indicators like blood screening, safe injections, mother-to-child transmission prevention, and vaccination coverage.

The three-pillar program focuses on active case finding among high-risk groups, free diagnostic and treatment services, and nationwide insurance coverage. Iran has prioritized intravenous drug users, prisoners, special-needs patients, and refugees in its outreach. Raisi said roughly 13,000 to 21,000 new cases are diagnosed each year, enough to reach bronze level by 2026 if the pace continues.

“We’ve mapped out the plan from 2024 to 2027 to scale up screening and treatment,” he said. Iran’s program, shaped over two decades of public health reforms, is now seen as a “hidden pillar” of national wellbeing — akin to security, Raisi noted.

Despite tough US-led sanctions, Iran has received logistical and scientific support from WHO, UNICEF, and UNODC.

Iran shares borders with Afghanistan and Pakistan — both of which rank among countries with the highest rates of infectious disease. Yet, Raisi pointed out, Iran has made “major gains” in controlling tuberculosis and malaria, and now sees hepatitis C elimination as “not a dream, but a reachable reality.”

World Hepatitis Day is observed globally on July 28, the birthday of Baruch Blumberg (1925–2011), the Nobel-winning American physician who discovered the hepatitis B virus in 1967 and developed its first vaccine two years later.