New York City, July 25, 2024 — This World Hepatitis Day, July 28, we are better positioned than ever to end hepatitis C Virus (HCV) as a pandemic. In the past 10 years we have seen HCV evolve from being a complex and difficult disease to treat, to being curable with eight to twelve weeks of oral medication produced by generic manufacturers. Bold action is necessary to ensure these HCV cures reach everyone who needs them, and to keep the global HCV response on-track to end viral hepatitis by 2030.

Finding people living with HCV has long been one of the biggest hurdles in the HCV care cascade: of the estimated 50 million people living with HCV worldwide, only 36% were diagnosed between 2015 and 2022, and only 20% received treatment. The fact that people who inject drugs, people in carceral settings, and people who are unstably housed are most at risk for HCV makes case finding challenging because these populations too often lack meaningful access to health care. Effective HCV services must reach them where they are.

A few promising recent developments have the potential to partially alleviate these barriers. First, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved an HCV point-of-care RNA test that can provide confirmatory HCV test results within 60 minutes, which could allow for treatment initiation during a single visit with the potential to increase cure rates and greatly reduce losses-to-follow-up. Second, the World Health Organization (WHO) prequalification of the OraQuick HCV self-test enables people at high risk of HCV to monitor their own health, potentially expanding access to diagnostic services outside of health care settings. Finally, the recent High Court order in India requiring the State of Nagaland to provide free HCV services will make it easier for people living there to connect to care.

“We applaud these positive developments, and urge governments, community health workers, advocates, and other stakeholders to make strong public commitments to end HCV and take steps to make sure these interventions reach communities,” said Joelle Dountio, acting HCV director at Treatment Action Group (TAG). “It’s time to stop leaving people behind to develop preventable cirrhosis or liver cancer.”

Ending HCV by 2030 is still within reach — but it will require funding for public health programming, as well as harm reduction services for people who use drugs. Such supportive resources facilitate ties with communities at risk for HCV, as well as mechanisms for outreach, testing and care provision. This World Hepatitis Day, it’s time to stand alongside people most affected by this disease, and end HCV for good.

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