Improving access to diagnosis and treatment for hepatitis C in low- and middle-income countries

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Developing simplified, adapted, affordable care models for hepatitis C virus (HCV).

Challenges

Availability of HCV diagnosis and treatment is extremely limited in low- and middle-income countries and models of care are not well adapted to the needs of HIV/HCV co-infected patients, who often present with multiple health problems.

Solutions

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) aims to develop and test simplified, adapted and affordable care models for HCV. Successful models will be documented and proposed for adoption in countries.

Progress so far

The project demonstrated that it was feasible to treat hepatitis C in places where resources were limited, and to achieve high cure rates. Hepatitis C models of care were developed and successfully tested in project countries.

Impact achieved

The grant made some progress towards overcoming all the access barriers that inhibit the delivery of HCV care at scale: affordability, supply and delivery and demand and adoption. The results of the project informed normative guidelines for screening and treatment of hepatitis C. This was a major step leading towards an uptake of hepatitis C treatment and care. The grant has also played a catalytic role within MSF, accelerating the development of HCV programmes.

  • Read Unitaid’s Impact Story: Paving the way to hepatitis C elimination


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