Who Counts in Our National Hepatitis Plans?

Activists and community members need meaningful ways to talk with policy-makers about how to improve national hepatitis targets. Remember to ask your Ministry of Health when monitoring results along the hepatitis C care cascade:

• What does our epidemic look like in our country? How do you take into the account our issues and the concerns of key populations? What reliable data and sources are being used?
• What opportunities exist for strengthening the political education of patients,
  people at risk, and community members to meaningfully participate in the national hepatitis/ elimination process?
• How are people accessing accurate health information on the hepatitis C virus? How is national progress on hepatitis C disseminated to key populations? What mechanisms are in place for community members to provide feedback on the results?
• Who can access and who is covered for using affordable needle syringe programs, opioid substitution therapy, and overdose prevention services?
• Who can access affordable hepatitis C testing? How much do people need to pay out-of-pocket?
• In active hepatitis C antibody screening campaigns, what is the percentage of people who have received confirmatory testing? What is the percentage of people who have been diagnosed?
• Where is hepatitis C testing available? What measures have been taken to shift testing from hospitals to alternative, point- of-care settings?
• How are people diagnosed with hepatitis C counseled and linked to affordable treatment? Are high quality, generic, direct-acting antivirals available? How much do people need to pay out-of-pocket?
• How many people have been treated with direct-acting antivirals? How many people have been effectively cured by achieving a sustained virological response?
• How many people are engaged in hepatitis prevention programs after they completed treatment?
• How many people are monitored post- treatment for liver damage and liver cancer?
• How many reinfections have been diagnosed and treated?
• How are we funding the viral hepatitis response? What is the national budget for viral hepatitis? What is included in the viral hepatitis budget?
• What policy reforms, trainings, awareness-building, and other measures have taken place to create an enabling environment for stigmatized and marginalized communities to seek essential healthcare and other services?