People who inject drugs are a key population for the elimination of hepatitis C in Europe, and increasing their access to HCV testing and care is a goal in European and national hepatitis C policies. Despite this, HCV testing remains low among people who inject drugs and effective approaches to promote testing as the first element of a cascade of care are particularly needed.
The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) has launched a vital toolkit to enhance Hepatitis C testing and care, supporting the World Health Organisation’s 2030 goal to eliminate Hepatitis. It is a step by step guide for those involved in planning and managing infectious diseases and drug services, focusing on how to identify barriers to and opportunities for improving provision of HCV testing and access to treatment for people who inject drugs. It incorporates tools and materials supporting the organisation of a participatory process for identifying actions at the national or local level in order to improve the situation.
The toolkit was presented at the World Hepatitis Summit held this week in Lisbon.
More information and the toolkit are available following this link>>>.