We Must Invest in Viral Hepatitis WHA Holds First Face-To-Face Workshop For
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JULY 2019: Vol.38 hep Voice World Hepatitis Day: message from the President WHA holds first face-to-face workshop for Find the Missing Millions In-country Advocacy Programme hepinion: We must invest in viral hepatitis Meet WHA's newest members note from our CEO contents Stay connected As with many of you, the WHA team are busy www.worldhepatitisalliance.org preparing for World Hepatitis Day. It’s been Regulars wonderful to see how many people are planning [email protected] activities this year and I’m sure this year will be 4 hep Headlines one to remember. There’s still time to get involved www.facebook.com/worldhepalliance and tell us what you are doing at www.worldhepatitisday.org. 5 Dates for the diary @Hep_Alliance This month WHA welcomed the five members working with us on the Find the Missing Millions Features @worldhepatitisalliance In-country Advocacy Programme to London. We were delighted to be joined by the members and leading stakeholders at the meeting, which 6 World Hepatitis Day: message from the President was a real success. Each of the five members is developing exciting projects that will accelerate 8 Meet WHA's new members hepatitis elimination efforts in their communities. We will let you know more about their plans 10 WHA holds first face-to-face workshop for Find the Missing in the coming months. Work has also been Millions In-country Advocacy Programme continuing in India and Cambodia, where we are working with partners and governments to undertake the investment case for viral hepatitis 12 hepinion: We must invest in viral hepatitis elimination. WHA Head of Programmes, Jessica Hicks, has written a hepinion piece on the need 14 World Hepatitis Day masterclass: holding an advocacy walk for investment in viral hepatitis which you can read on page 12. 16 World Hepatitis Day masterclass: creating an impactful social media campaign Don’t miss I was delighted to have the opportunity to meet out - receive more of our members this month at the 5th 18 World Hepatitis Day masterclass: organising a press conference hepVoice annual HIV/Viral Hepatitis Co-infection meeting straight to held ahead of IAS in Mexico. I’m always inspired 20 Wall of Stories: Philip Baldwin your inbox! by the WHA members that I meet and the role civil society plays in accelerating action on viral hepatitis. We are looking to showcase more of that work in the coming months so please get in touch if you would like your work featured on our Want to contribute? platforms. We welcome your contributions so please get in touch at [email protected] to have your news and I would like to wish you all the very best for World stories included in future issues and feel free to share this Hepatitis Day and I hope you can join us to Find magazine with your network the Missing Millions. I am looking forward to seeing the results of all your hard work in due course. Cary James 2 hep Voice JULY 2019 hep Voice JULY 2019 3 Hep Headlines and C. The WHO scorecard and effort on the released Ghosh added, "We find that revealed that only three of inmates' end to come out every time we add another the 47 countries are on track of this. And if we don’t step, clients fall off. But if you headlines to eliminate viral hepatitis. provide them with enough add a peer navigator, they support, they’re not going make it to each and every hep Read more here. to be able to,” said Monty one of those steps at a high, Hepatitis is regularly Malaysians to understand More than four million people Ghosh, a University of Alberta high rate." the risk factors of hepatitis in Uganda have been screened Program in Canada helps professor. making the news C, so that we can tackle the to date. Since 2015, Uganda recently released prisoners The program intends to thanks to the efforts health burden in this country has invested $3 million living with hepatitis C Through this program, reach 120 clients in the first of WHA members. and prevent new cases from annually on a free hepatitis people who have recently year and have 80% of them occurring. B screening programme and A pilot program with the aim been released from prison complete a full course of Here are a few conducted a community to ensure recently released can connect with “peer treatment. highlights. “This initiative is the biggest mobilisation and sensitisation inmates with a history navigators”. The navigators national screening event drive on the disease. of injection drug use are have lived through similar Read more here. Free nationwide screening ever attempted by our screened and treated for experiences and they campaign in Malaysia government and will play a “More than 30% of the hepatitis C has been launched accompany the former significant role in our hepatitis population who are infected in Calgary, Canada. inmates to medical, legal and In the biggest national C elimination efforts by 2030. with hepatitis B are now social services appointments. screening campaign ever This campaign will also help aware of their status and can “It takes a lot of willpower attempted in the country, to support and accelerate the have access to free medical Malaysia aims to test and treat scale-up activities of hepatitis care, making Uganda the first its population for hepatitis C, C screening in-country,” he country in Africa to surpass free of charge. added. the 2020 target of 20%,” notes the WHO scorecard. Participating in a hepatitis- The campaign, which is part Read more here and follow Dates for the diary related activity or have an of preparations for World the campaign on Twitter by Along with Uganda, Rwanda Upcoming events and activities taking place event planned? Email us or Hepatitis Day on 28 July, searching #MYmissingmillions have also been applauded includes over 100 specifically for their efforts to eliminate contact us on social media. designed screening sites Uganda becomes first hepatitis. 5 - 6 August in hospitals and primary African country to reach Australasian Viral Hepatitis Elimination Conference (AVHEC) healthcare centres across WHO’s 2020 targets of “Only Rwanda (hepatitis C) The Australasian Viral Hepatitis Elimination Conference brings together health professionals, policy Malaysia. It is estimated that tackling hepatitis B and Uganda (hepatitis B) makers, researchers, community organisations and people living with viral hepatitis committed to there are over 400,000 people have started free nationwide eliminating hepatitis B and C as a major public health threat. The 2019 conference will be held at living with hepatitis C in the A new scorecard tracking the screening as a decentralised Novotel Sydney Brighton Beach, Sydney, Australia, and registration closes 21 July. Find out morehere . country. progress against hepatitis B service, and are on track to in Africa revealed Uganda is reach the 2020 target for 6 - 8 September Along with treating people the first country to reach and screening and community Conference on Liver Disease in Africa (COLDA) with hepatitis C, the campaign surpass the World Health awareness,” says WHO. has additional targets such COLDA is a platform that will bring together experts from around the world involved in liver disease Organisation’s (WHO) 2020 in an interactive conference setting. It is aimed at empowering African healthcare providers for the as preventing new cases of Every year, more than 200,000 target of ensuring access, benefit of their patients. It will target healthcare professionals, researchers, public health experts and the virus. Health Director- people in Africa die from treatment and awareness policy makers involved in the diagnosis, management and prevention of liver diseases. The conference General Datuk Dr Noor Hisham raising of the viral infection. complications of hepatitis B will be held in Cairo, Egypt. Find out more here. Abdullah said, “We also want 4 hep Voice JULY 2019 hep Voice 5 World Hepatitis Day Message From The President Ahead of World Hepatitis by 2030. Since then, 124 countries Day, World Hepatitis "Millions of lives are have developed, or are developing, Alliance President Michael still at risk simply elimination strategies. Yet many of these strategies do not have Ninburg sends this personal because people are dedicated funding. Achieving hepatitis message to members and elimination by 2030 will require a supporters everywhere. unaware that they major increase in funding for hepatitis are living with viral prevention, testing and treatment World Hepatitis Day is the one services, as well as including hepatitis day when the world unites to hepatitis." services in Universal Health Coverage celebrate the progress made efforts. towards the elimination of viral Millions of lives are still at risk simply hepatitis. Progress that has only been because people are unaware that they We have the tools to eliminate these possible thanks to you, the community are living with viral hepatitis. This year diseases and we are fighting for the of people affected by viral hepatitis. This on World Hepatitis Day, the World resources. I believe that together, is the day to combine our voices to raise Hepatitis Alliance is encouraging you we will achieve the elimination of awareness for the 325 million people to help Find the Missing Millions - viral hepatitis. And it is my sincere "We have the tools living with hepatitis B and hepatitis C. those people living with viral hepatitis hope that World Hepatitis Day who remain undiagnosed. To do this serves as a catalyst for action. to eliminate these World Hepatitis Day also gives us time we need to raise awareness and to diseases and we to pause and reflect on the countless encourage people to get tested.