Viral hepatitis is one of the leading causes of death and disability worldwide. Globally, it is the seventh biggest annual killer. It affects more than 350 million – more than HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis or malaria.
Fortunately, Hepatitis C (HCV) is curable thanks to the health technologies which have been developed over the past 10 years, and hence, it can be eliminated. The financing gap to roll these out and eliminate HCV globally through prevention, screening, testing and treatment has been estimated at USD 41.5 billion between 2018 and 2030. However, not one major philanthropic funder has committed to the goal of HCV elimination, and only a handful of countries, mostly high-income, are on track to achieve the World Health Assembly (WHA) elimination targets.
This discussion paper summarises the unique opportunity that international and national actors have to come together and commit to eliminate HCV and to generate historic gains from the health, social and economic impact of these
efforts. The paper offers examples of elimination programmes that have been successfully financed and implemented in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). They illustrate how the sustainability of these programmes was secured by traditional government health financing coupled with external resources, such as catalytic funding or development aid loans. Alternative financing mechanisms that have been used for other diseases responses are also proposed as a potential way forward to finance HCV elimination efforts.
Download the White Paper here.