Globally, one person dies every 30 seconds from hepatitis B and C virus (HBV / HCV) infections. Those infected have the same risk of cancer as someone who smokes one pack of cigarettes per day. The current medicines can cure HCV infection in <3 months. Also, vaccines to prevent HBV infection and treatments to prevent HBV disease progression have been around for more than 20 years. In 2015, the elimination of viral hepatitis was endorsed at the World Health Assembly in Geneva. However, funding for HCV/HBV elimination remains limited and most people have not heard of these infections.
The Center for Disease Analysis Foundation (CDAF) has been using decision support tools and techniques to help countries make informed decisions regarding viral hepatis elimination. We created the Polaris Observatory to provide data and modeling to show the impact decisions. We provide decision support to over 130 countries. These efforts have led to removal of treatment restrictions, uptake of testing (48 million in Egypt, 9 million in Brazil, 1 million in Mongolia…) and treatment (3.5 million in Egypt, 1/5 cases in Brazil…) but financing the elimination programs remains a key barrier.
Understanding the key decision drivers in different public health settings is a key focus for CDAF as viruses move across borders freely. The stakes are higher than ever. Without good decision-making tools and concerted efforts across countries to tackle global health problems, we are left with what governments do very well - talk while people die.
