#WorldHepatitisDay: Supporting the HCV elimination agenda –– an EMCDDA initiative to increase access to hepatitis C care in drug services
#WorldHepatitisDay: Supporting the HCV elimination agenda –– an EMCDDA initiative to increase access to hepatitis C care in drug services
Every year, on 28 July, the World Health Organization (WHO) and partners mark World Hepatitis Day. Its aim is to increase awareness and understanding of viral hepatitis and the diseases it causes.The introduction of direct-acting antiviral (DAA) therapy has profoundly changed and improved the clinical management of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and given impetus to the WHO goal of eliminating HCV infection as a public health threat by 2030. Although DAA therapy has provided the tools to achieve this, HCV elimination is dependent on substantially increasing the number of people tested, diagnosed, linked to care and treated. Improving the HCV care cascade among marginalised, high-risk populations –– such as people who inject drugs –– is paramount in these efforts. (EMCDDA, Lissabon, 26.07.2019)