The Global Liver Institute is a proud member of the World Hepatitis Alliance and we are excited to present this challenge from Raquel Peck, the Executive Director and CEO of WHA, to every willing person and government around the globe to eliminate hepatitis C in our lifetime. We have gone from identifying the virus to a cure in record time. Let’s see how quickly we can come together to move from cure to eradication!
By Raquel Peck
For the last decade, those of us involved in the field of viral hepatitis have rallied together around a vision: a world where people living with viral hepatitis have access to safe and affordable care and treatment, transmission is halted and people do not face social marginalization and inequality.
On World Hepatitis Day (Thursday, July 28) we are taking a bold step further and launching NOhep, a global movement to eliminate viral hepatitis by 2030.
You may recall that in May, at the 69th World Health Assembly in Geneva, 194 governments adopted WHO’s first ever Global Health Sector Strategy for Viral Hepatitis (GHSS), which included a goal of eliminating hepatitis B and C by 2030, and a set of targets which, if reached, will reduce annual deaths by 65% and increase treatment to 80%, saving 7.1 million lives globally.
With vaccines and effective treatments for hepatitis B and a cure for hepatitis C now available, the elimination of viral hepatitis is feasible and achievable, but will require increased awareness of the illness and an increase in political prioritization to reach the targets.
We, the hepatitis community, are at a critical juncture. We have a global strategy, we have the tools, but to ensure viral hepatitis is eliminated by 2030, we need to strengthen our call and join together under one banner, one voice – and this voice is NOhep.
Essentially, our global elimination movement will act as a platform under which anyone, anywhere can push the hepatitis agenda forward, be it by raising awareness and reducing stigma, by lobbying their government for change, by demanding access to treatment, etc. As such, NOhep will unite those working in the field of hepatitis and others from across the world around one common purpose, the elimination of viral hepatitis by 2030.
Now, a movement is only a movement if people are behind it. NOhep will run until 2030 and is now calling on individuals and organizations across the world to sign-up. Take action and help us make the elimination of viral hepatitis our next greatest achievement!
Sign up and watch the 2030 Year in Review video here: www.NOhep.org
You can follow Raquel on Twitter @RaqPeck and the WHA @Hep_Alliance. #NOhep
