15 Jun 2017
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands achieves hepatitis B milestone
On 15 June 2017 the World Health Organisation confirmed that the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands – a stretch of 14 islands in the northwest Pacific – reduced hepatitis B infection among children to less than 1%
This impressive and important public health milestone has been the result of tireless work of a strong hepatitis B vaccination program, which provides babies with their first dose of hepatitis B vaccine within 24 hours of birth, followed by two more doses within the first year of life.
In reporting, Dr Shin Young-soo, WHO Regional Director for the Western Pacific said that “On behalf of WHO, I wholeheartedly congratulate the Northern Mariana Islands for reaching this important public health milestone,”
The Northern Mariana Islands joins 17 other countries and areas in the Western Pacific Region that have been verified as having achieved the 2017 Regional goal of less than 1% prevalence among 5-year-old children. The other previously verified countries and areas are American Samoa, Australia, Brunei Darussalam, China, the Cook Islands, French Polynesia, Guam, Hong Kong SAR (China), Macao SAR (China), Malaysia, Mongolia, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, the Republic of Korea, Singapore and Tokelau.