Abstract / Summary
Abstract Background Viral hepatitis prevention and care are central to equitable global health, yet Somalia lacks a stable nationally representative evidence base. The existing literature combines historical surveys, facility studies, selected donor samples, high-risk populations and Somali diaspora data. This review updates the interpretation of that evidence and identifies policy priorities without treating setting-specific estimates as national prevalence. Main body: A historical meta-analysis of 29 studies documented high but heterogeneous markers of hepatitis A, B, C, D and E infection. Publications through 2025 continue to show large differences by population and testing frame: HBsAg positivity was 11.2% and 13.3% in two antenatal-facility studies, 9.7% in a Mogadishu blood-donor study and 2.8% among tested patients in one tertiary-hospital data set. HCV estimates also varied. These data support prevention, maternal testing and linkage to care, but they do not establish a current national prevalence. Evidence of incomplete hepatitis B vaccination among health-sciences students and ongoing risk in haemodialysis and blood-service settings reinforces the need for service-integrated action. Conclusion Somalia needs a coordinated viral hepatitis response built around timely infant vaccination, antenatal HBsAg testing and prevention of mother-to-child transmission, safe blood and injection practices, accessible diagnosis and treatment, health-worker vaccination and national surveillance. Future nationally representative surveys and linked routine data are essential to measure progress fairly.