Ministers,
Excellencies,
Distinguished Secretaries,
Partners and colleagues,
Let me begin by thanking the Government of Thailand—for hosting this Summit, and for the sustained leadership that has made Thailand a model for hepatitis elimination in practice.
I also warmly welcome Bangladesh, whose progress in challenging settings continues to offer important lessons.
And I acknowledge the Maldives, whose achievement of triple elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV, syphilis, and hepatitis B stands as a major global milestone.
I would also like to recognize the World Hepatitis Alliance and its networks, for ensuring that the voices of affected communities remain central to this work. 
This Summit comes at a moment of both opportunity and risk.
We have the tools to prevent, diagnose, and treat viral hepatitis.
Science is no longer the constraint.
But financing is tightening, health systems are under pressure, and political attention is difficult to sustain over the long course of elimination.
What separates countries that reach elimination from those that do not is not knowledge— it is the sustained will to act on it.
From the WHO South-East Asia Region, that message is particularly clear.
The region carries around 16% of the global hepatitis burden—some 50 million people living with hepatitis B and C.
There has been real progress.
The Maldives achieved triple elimination.
Thailand has embedded hepatitis within its universal health coverage system—demonstrating how system design can drive progress at scale.
Bangladesh is expanding services for vulnerable populations, including in Cox’s Bazar—showing that even complex settings can be reached.
Across the region, hepatitis B immunization has expanded, and PMTCT programmes are delivering results.
These are areas where political commitment has translated into impact.
But beyond this, progress remains uneven.
In many countries, hepatitis is still only partially integrated into health systems, and scale-up of testing and treatment is too slow.
So the lesson is clear: we know where progress happens—and where it stalls.
Countries move when hepatitis is embedded into primary health care, financing, and delivery systems.
They stall when it remains a vertical programme—competing for attention, funding, and workforce.
This is why this Summit matters.
To keep hepatitis visible on national and global agendas, and to ensure that commitments are translated into action.
As WHO, we are fully committed.
Our role is to provide clear guidance, support implementation, and convene partners around country-led priorities.
But elimination will depend on national ownership.
The tools are proven.
The models exist.
What is required now is the discipline to protect investments, the focus to accelerate where momentum exists, and the determination to reach those left furthest behind.
The South-East Asia Region comes ready to contribute—with our experience, our lessons, and our commitment.
And we look forward to learning from yours.
Thank you.