Last Wednesday (9th July), we held a parliamentary reception in the House of Commons to celebrate the progress that has been made towards eliminating hepatitis C and discuss what needs to be done to ensure that this historic achievement, when it arrives, is maintained. We are deeply thankful to everyone who attended, and to Peter Dowd MP for hosting us.
The event also marked the publication of the final report of the Hepatitis C Elimination Maintenance Strategy Group, coordinated by HCV Action: Sustaining Success: Principles to achieve and maintain hepatitis C elimination in England.
We were thrilled to see such a great turn-out, including guests from the World Health Organization, many parliamentarians, and key health, criminal justice, and drug and alcohol stakeholders. The event provided a fantastic opportunity for attendees to read the new report and hear first-hand about the strides we’re taking towards elimination, with our staff from each region in England manning stands.
We were fortunate to be joined by a host of excellent speakers. They highlighted that this success is not only a perfect example of the ‘hospital to community’ shift that is currently a high priority for Government, but also that this success wouldn’t have happened without the strong partnerships that have been built between the NHS, prisons, and the voluntary sector.
Speaker list
Peter Dowd MP
Mark Gillyon-Powell, NHS England, Deputy Director – HCV Elimination and Health Inequalities
Dr Meg Doherty, WHO Director of the Global HIV, Hepatitis, and Sexually Transmitted Infections Programmes
Rachel Halford, CEO, Hepatitis C Trust
These partnerships have allowed the voice of lived experience, including our peer programme, to be central in the push for elimination. This approach is vital for engaging people who are socially excluded (also called inclusion health groups), and this is especially important given around 90% of hepatitis C cases are a result of injecting drug use. Elimination would simply not be possible if we don’t get it right for this group of people.
Sustaining Success is essential reading for any decision maker keen to understand what a maintenance plan should look like, and for anyone who is interested in tackling health inequalities.
