01 Mar 2023
HR23 Pre-Conference on Viral Hepatitis and Harm Reduction
WHEN
15 Apr 2023
10.00am - 5.00pm
WHERE
Doherty Institute Auditorium, Ground Floor, 729 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne
A special pre-conference event focused on viral hepatitis and harm reduction, to kick off the discussion on hepatitis at the Harm Reduction International Conference (HR23) will take place on Saturday, 15 April.
The HR23 Pre-Conference on Viral Hepatitis and Harm Reduction will bring together experts in viral hepatitis to exchange information around opportunities to advance viral hepatitis testing and treatment amongst people who use drugs, with a view to contributing to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) elimination targets.
REGISTER TO ATTEND
Hepatitis B and C are preventable and treatable, with cost effective services that can be delivered easily within primary health care and at harm reduction sites, however, most countries are still not on track to meet the WHO goal to eliminate hepatitis C and B as public health threats by 2030.
Almost four-in-10 people who inject drugs have active hepatitis C, and one-in 12 has active hepatitis B according to a global systematic evidence review. Yet, access to viral hepatitis diagnosis, treatment and care for people who use drugs is often hindered by accessibility and affordability.
Other factors, such as a lack of safe injecting equipment, violence, human rights abuses, criminalisation, punitive and restrictive policies, gender, ethnicity, and race, also make certain groups most at risk of HIV vulnerable to viral hepatitis.
This workshop brings together local and international organisations invested in viral hepatitis elimination to identify innovations and outline new funding opportunities to support viral hepatitis programming alongside HIV and harm reduction programs.
Co-organised/hosted by - Harm Reduction International and the Australian Institute for Infectious Diseases - major partners Burnet and Doherty Institutes in partnership with WHO, the Hepatitis Fund, Unitaid, INHSU, INPUD, Kirby Institute, MdM, AIVL, Hepatitis Australia, ASHM, Frontline AIDS, PATH.
MORNING SESSION: The changing landscape of viral hepatitis & prevention with case studies from Australia and the region
AFTERNOON SESSION: Opportunities for viral hepatitis & prevention programming under Global Fund & Unitaid grants