OCTOBER: VOL 40 Voice hepYour monthly magazine from the World Hepatitis Alliance WHA welcomes new members WHA and UNITE partner to combat viral hepatitis hepinion: Global funders must join the fight for hepatitis elimination WALL OF STORIES “Being a survivor, it is now my duty to protect future generations.” Note from our CEO Contents Stay connected Welcome to hepVoice. It has been an www.worldhepatitisalliance.org exciting couple of months for the World Hepatitis Alliance and the global hepatitis Regulars [email protected] community. In September I attended the United Nations High-Level Meeting on 4 hep Headlines www.facebook.com/worldhepalliance Universal Health Coverage (UHC). Thanks to advocacy led by WHA viral hepatitis was @Hep_Alliance included in the UHC Political Declaration 5 Dates for the diary signed at the meeting. Civil society will @worldhepatitisalliance now play a crucial role in advocating for Features countries to make hepatitis elimination a cornerstone of their UHC responses. Read 6 WHA welcomes ten new more on page 10. members Service integration will be key for countries Want to contribute? in their UHC responses. This month WHA 8 WHA and UNITE partner to gathered support for an open letter to combat viral hepatitis We welcome your contributions so the Global Fund to urge the proactive please get in touch at exploration of areas in which hepatitis programmes can be integrated 10 Universal Health Coverage: [email protected] to with existing HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria programmes. The letter, what it means for hepatitis have your news and stories included in signed by over 800 people, was sent to the Global Fund on the eve of their future issues and feel free to share this replenishment meeting in Lyon where they raised US$14 billion for the fight 11 NOhep’s Global Fund magazine with your networks. against HIV, malaria and tuberculosis. You can read more about our campaign campaign on page 11. 12 : Global funders Partnerships will be another cornerstone of UHC. Working together we can hepinion must join the fight for hepatitis achieve more, and to that end WHA is delighted to announce partnerships with elimination UNITE, the global policymakers network, and IAPAC, the organisers of Fast- Track Cities. These partnerships will help to accelerate hepatitis elimination; Don’t you can read more about them on pages 8 and 14. 14 WHA and IAPAC announce Fast-Track Cities Partnership miss out - receive You may have noticed that hepVoice has had a small makeover. Last month hepVoice we asked for your feedback on how we could improve the magazine and I 16 Wall of Stories: Surender straight to would like to thank you for all the comments that you gave us. We have Kumar decided that we will be running the magazine in a similar format for the your inbox! remainder of 2019 whilst we make exciting changes to how you receive hepVoice in the future as we look to make it accessible on different platforms and in different languages. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this issue of hepVoice. Cary James 2 hep Voice OCTOBER 2019 hep Voice OCTOBER 2019 3 Hepatitis B identified Municipality, where 70 interventions are not as a growing health people were diagnosed carried out. challenge in Upper with the virus. headlines Dolpa, Nepal Dr KC also noted that the “One in four people increase in hepatitis B Over 20 per cent of people is likely to be found cases can be explained in hep who attended a health positive with hepatitis part by a lack of hepatitis Hepatitis is regularly making the news thanks to the efforts of camp in one of Nepal’s B in Upper Dolpa”, said B vaccination for infants. WHA members. Here are a few highlights. 77 districts have been Dr Sudhamshu KC, a diagnosed with hepatitis senior liver disease Click here to read more. specialist at Bir Hospital Almost 100,00 people Dr Helen Harris, Senior new hepatitis C cases B. More than 300 people in Kathmandu. He added Scientist at PHE, said, every year, it is estimated visited the health camp in UK unaware they are that the situation is only “Anyone who may be that 40,000 people in in Dolpo Buddha Rural living with hepatitis likely to worsen if timely at risk of infection, in Taiwan are living with the Public Health England particular those who have virus. (PHE) have announced ever injected drugs, even if that tens of thousands they injected only once or The cure rate for hepatitis Dates for the Diary of people in the UK are twice in the past, should C has increased in Taiwan, unaware they are living get tested. Given that new and Ministry of Health Upcoming events and activities taking place in the with hepatitis C. treatments provide a cure and Welfare official, Pu in around 95 per cent of Ruo-fang, credits a new coming months. Data from 2018 showed those who take them, hepatitis C drug for the that around 143,000 there has never been a improvement. After the 8 - 12 NoveMber people in the UK were better time to get tested.” drug was added to the The Liver Meeting, Boston, USA living with the virus. list of National Health The Liver Meeting® is the American Association for the Study of the Liver’s (AASLD) However, up to 95,600 Click here to read more. Insurance-covered annual event, which brings together 9,500 attendees from around the world to people may be unaware medicine, the cure rate for exchange the latest hepatological research, discuss new developments in treatment they have it, preventing Chinese Taipei (Taiwan) the infection reached 98.5 outcomes, and network with other experts in the field. Find out more here. them from seeking sets target to eliminate per cent. treatment. hepatitis by 2025 In total, 9,538 people 19 NoveMber People who believe they The Executive Yuan (the were cured by this drug World Toilet Day may have been at risk of executive branch of in 2017, and a further The theme of World Toilet Day 2019 is “Leave no one behind”. Access to adequate contracting hepatitis C the government of the 20,000 people were cured sanitation is key to avoiding the spread of hepatitis A and E. Find out more here and are being advised to take Republic of China on after the government join in the conversation using #WorldToiletDay. a quiz on the Hepatitis C Taiwan), has announced increased subsidies for the Trust website to find out if drug. their goal of eliminating Participating in a they should be tested. PHE 1 DeceMber hepatitis as a health hepatitis related is especially urging anyone Click here to read more. threat by 2025. This is five activity or have an who has ever injected World AIDS Day years ahead of the World event planned? drugs to take the quiz. Health Organization’s World AIDS Day is an opportunity for people worldwide to (WHO) goal. unite in the fight against HIV and to show support for people living with HIV. More than five million people living with HIV Email us or contact us on social media. With an average of 7,000 also have hepatitis B or C, so it’s important to come together and tackle these epidemics together. Find out more here and join in the conversation using #WorldAIDSDay. 4 hep Voice OCTOBER 2019 hep Voice OCTOBER 2019 5 WHA welcomes 10 new members Coalition to Eradicate Viral Hepatitis in Croatian Association for HIV and viral Hepatitis Asia Pacific Ltd (CEVHAP) (CAHIV) WHA has recently welcomed ten new members to the Based in Singapore, CEVHAP has previously worked with WHA. CAHIV’s work centres on tackling both HIV and viral hepatitis in Croatia. A member organisation in their own right, they bring together In 2013 they founded CheckPoint Zagreb, offering free and anonymous organisation, which now the collective knowledge and expertise of their membership in testing for blood borne viruses. Along with the Ministry of Health in represents 291 members their advocacy efforts, education and knowledge building and Croatia, they organise and provide psychosocial support services for those across 93 countries. policy research to help build national action plans. Follow living with viral hepatitis too. They also work with medical professionals them on Facebook here and Twitter here. and have developed a mobile app about hepatitis, and organise educational symposiums. You can follow them on Facebook here. Health and Development Initiative The Health and Development Initiative is our second member in Gambia. They Zemma Awareness Initiative use the first six Sustainable Development Goals as the basis of their constitution Nigerian-based Zemma Awareness Initiative conduct community awareness to improve healthcare across their country, performing community outreach and programmes and hold screening camps for both hepatitis B and C. They sensitisation activities, and referring people for vaccinations. They also celebrate recently vaccinated over 200 people in their community, whilst also carrying out World Hepatitis Day each year. Follow them on Facebook here and Twitter here. awareness-raising activities. They are already members of the Viral Hepatitis Association of Nigeria. You can follow them on Facebook here. Great Lakes Peace Center The Great Lakes Peace Center is based in Uganda. They are a youth-led International Network on Hepatitis in Substance Users (INHSU) organisation promoting peace through youth empowerment, and have a range of priorities including hepatitis elimination. They carry out hepatitis INHSU is a non-profit based in Switzerland. They are a membership organisation comprised awareness-raising activities within their local community. You can follow of clinicians, research experts and other global stakeholders.