Virendra Sharma MP joined Professor Steve Ryder and the Hepatitis C Coalition to celebrate the launch of a new report on hepatitis C – which affects over 100,000 people in England alone.
Virendra Sharma MP joined the Hepatitic C Coalition and other Parliamentarians on Monday to celebrate the launch of ‘Signposting the Way to Elimination by 2025’ – and call for an urgent, coordinated effort to increase testing and treatment for hepatitis C to drive elimination in time for NHS England’s aim of 2025.
The hepatitis C virus (or HCV) is a liver infection that spreads through blood-to-blood contact. It is a global health threat that affects 71 million people around the world. Once it becomes chronic, it can cause real damage, such as cirrhosis and liver cancer.
The Hepatitis C Coalition is an umbrella group of 24 organisations group comprising clinicians, patient organisations, drugs and alcohol service providers, homelessness charities and others committed to reducing hepatitis C infection and its elimination.
The Coalition’s new document ‘Signposting the Way to Elimination by 2025’ sets out how all parts of the hepatitis C pathway can work together to support NHS England in its aim to eliminate the virus by 2025. The document sets out practical steps that the Coalition can take to support NHS England with its elimination effort.
The launch in Parliament brought together hepatologists, specialist nurses, pharmacists and NHS managers for the first time. Attendees were addressed by the Shadow Minister for Public Health and Primary Care, Sharon Hodgson MP and Labour MP and member of the Health and Social Care Select Committee Diana Johnson. Other speakers included the Coalition’s Chair and Vice Chairs, Professor Steve Ryder, Professor Ashley Brown and Rachel Halford, who is also the new Chief Executive of the Hepatitis C Trust.
Professor Ryder, Chair of the Hepatitis C Coalition, said: “We were delighted to see so many parliamentarians from different parties coming together to mark this occasion and to pledge their support for eliminating hepatitis C. It is not often that we can say that it is possible to eliminate a disease as a public health threat, but this is well within our capability to achieve. We are at a vital moment in the fight against hepatitis C and now is the time to act. This is a chronic disease affecting over 100,000 people in England, and it can go undetected for years.
“Now we need to push forward and raise awareness as much as possible, get as many people as possible tested and, if needed, into treatment and on the road to recovery. I would like to see everyone with a will to make this work doing their bit to spread the message and help make hepatitis C history. Today, parliamentarians came together to help us do that. We have a goal for 2025. Let’s make it happen.”
