In an effort to address increasing deaths from liver cancer in Southeast Asia, which are projected to double by 2050 to over 200,000 deaths annually, the World Health Organization (WHO) on Saturday called on the countries in the region to urgently scale up efforts to provide universal access to prevention, vaccination, diagnosis, and treatment of viral hepatitis B and C.

Liver cancer is currently the fourth biggest cause of cancer deaths in the region, and the second most common cause of cancer deaths among men.