updated compendium
The ACHIEVE Coalition would like to issue an updated version of its “Stories to inspire” after the summer break 2022, to showcase additional good practice examples from across the world which should and must be emulated to put an end to the viral hepatitis epidemic and help Europe meet the UN SDGs target and the WHO elimination goal by 2030.
Scope:
Good practice comes in many shapes, forms and sizes at different levels and from different actors; hence, we only want to provide a few pointers to describe what we are looking for:
Good practice at health system level, such as:
- inclusion of hepatitis B and C tests in health check-ups for the general population;
- inclusion of liver enzyme tests in general health check-ups with a clear path to check on viral hepatitis for those with elevated ALT results;
- incentives to general practitioners to identify those infected with chronic viral hepatitis (e.g., budgetary incentives, specific software to help identify people with an elevated risk);
- integration of prevention and testing services for HIV, viral hepatitis and STIs;
- monitoring schemes and anonymised registries for people with viral hepatitis to identify potential threats to liver health (e.g., cirrhosis, cancer);
- inclusion of information on viral hepatitis B and C in national/ regional/ local cancer prevention campaigns;
- coverage of testing/ care for people outside the health system without insurance
- roll-out of a national strategy to eliminate viral hepatitis;
- application of innovative data tools to identify people with viral hepatitis who might have been diagnosed decades ago, but have since fallen through the net without knowledge of the availability of treatment;
- learnings from COVID testing roll-out applied to fight viral hepatitis;
- Relevant pilots on the above.
Good practice in eliminating viral hepatitis in vulnerable populations (e.g., PWID, migrants, refugees, prisoners, people with thalassemia, etc.)
- immunisation of at-risk adult populations;
- decentralised outpatient care, (e.g., addiction clinics, pharmacies, telemedicine);
- multidisciplinary care projects, including peer and psychosocial support to promote adherence;
- mobile testing units;
- projects to help overcome stigma and discrimination.
Successful awareness campaigns to educate different population segments (youth, specific risk groups, healthcare workers) on how to avoid transmission (infection/re-infection) of viral hepatitis B and C, recognise its possible symptoms and the testing and treatment opportunities available
- specifically aimed at viral hepatitis;
- as part of a wider health campaign.
INSTRUCTIONS
We kindly ask you to respond to the Contact Form below by June 15, 2022:
Alternatively, you can e-mail us the below information at: secretariat@achievecoalition.eu
What (brief project description)
Who (the organisation/s involved in the project)
Why (short project rationale)
How (steps taken to make the project work)
Outcomes (any quantitative or qualitative outcomes you can share)
Learnings/Recommendations (specific insights you would like to share)
Funding (funding/ sponsorship received, if applicable)
Name and Contact details for further information
Visuals: logos and images, if any
background
In late 2019, ACHIEVE issued its “Stories to inspire: How national, regional and local initiatives are helping to achieve viral hepatitis elimination”, a collection of good practice examples.
A lot has happened since then, with the COVID19-pandemic unfolding and claiming the attention of decision-makers for the past two years. At the same time, the crisis has also generated a greater understanding that cross-country cooperation is helpful in the fight against chronic diseases – be they communicable and non-communicable.
The new generous EU4Health funding programme and other policy initiatives of the European Health Union are only two examples of this development. Cancer prevention activities stemming from Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan have also been asked to specifically address hepatitis testing and treatment next to other “more traditional health determinants” such as tobacco, harmful alcohol consumption, unhealthy diet, etc.
Furthermore, there is a real chance that the official forum provided by the European Commission for EU27 health ministry representatives to discuss and exchange on the implementation of good practice in the fight against non-communicable diseases, jointly fulfilling the UN SDGs, will soon be extended to include communicable diseases.