The global medical community is sounding the alarm over a silent epidemic: chronic liver disease. During the first meeting of the Global Think-Tank on Steatotic Liver Disease, held in Barcelona on 5–6 June, more than 100 international experts warned that millions worldwide—particularly those with obesity, diabetes, and other metabolic risks—are going undiagnosed and untreated until it’s too late.
The most common form, metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), affects one in three adults globally. Its more dangerous progression, metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), impacts around 5% of people—often without symptoms until irreversible liver damage occurs.
Experts are calling on governments to double the MASH diagnosis rate by 2027, integrate liver screening into primary healthcare, and use non-invasive tools and AI to detect cases early. The call to action is urgent: new treatments are becoming available, but without timely diagnosis, they may not reach those in need.
“We must move from treating late-stage liver disease to preventing it altogether,” said Prof. Jeffrey Lazarus of the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal).
A “People-First Liver Charter” published in Nature Medicine urges person-centred, stigma-free care that respects and empowers patients. Endorsed by 70 organisations, it calls for replacing outdated terminology and discriminatory care models.
While much of the current data comes from Europe, the implications for African countries are significant—where under-resourced health systems and rising rates of obesity and diabetes may mask a growing liver disease burden. Chronic liver disease, affecting 1.5 billion people globally, remains absent from most national NCD strategies, including in Africa.
With the UN High-Level Meeting on NCDs set for September, experts are calling for chronic liver disease to be included in global health priorities, including on the African continent.
“We can no longer afford to ignore this silent threat,” said Lazarus. “It’s time to bring liver disease out of the shadows and into mainstream public health responses.”
