Global Commission on Drug Policy releases report
on Hepatitis C: "
.
..the hidden
epidemic
"
Friday, 31 May 2013, Geneva, Switzerland
- On 30 May, the Global Commission on Drug Policy
released the report 'The Negative Impact of the War on Drugs on Public Health: the hidden Hepatitis C epidemic' during a press conference in Geneva, Switzerland.
Worldwide, approximately 10 million out of the 16 million people who inject drugs are affected by Hepatitis
C and the numbers are growing fast. This population is heavily affected because the virus is highly
infectious and is transmitted by blood-to-blood contact.
Hepatitis C can be cured but testing and access to treatment remains low because it is very expensive.
Additional impediments to testing and treatment access by people who inject drugs include criminalization
and systematic discrimination.
Recent epidemiological statistics show that in East and Southeast Asia 2.6 million people who inject
drugs are infected, closely followed by Eastern Europe, with an infection rate estimated in 2.3 million.
Michel Kazatchkine, member of the Global Commission on Drug Policy and UN
Special Envoy on HIV/AIDS in Eastern Europe and Asia, said that Hepatitis C is "one of the most grossly miscalculated
diseases by governments on the planet". Unfortunately, according to Kazatchkine, "only a handful of
countries can show significant decline in new infections of hepatitis C among people who inject drugs".
The reportm offers 11 recommendations. Among them the call on governments to acknowledge the
importance of the hepatitis C epidemic and the impact it has on people's lives, especially those who use
drugs. The report emphasizes the importance of reviewing and reforming existing drug policies that
promote mass incarceration and compulsory treatment and impose public health measures that prevent
people who use drugs from accessing services and care. It also highlights the importance of making
treatment financially viable and ensuring that there are mechanisms in place, which will provide access to
quality data.
Bertrand Audoin, the Executive Director of the International AIDS Society said
"This huge unrecognized epidemic of hepatitis C along with HIV which causes the untold suffering for millions of people-is largely
avoidable. Ending the criminalization and the unacceptable targeting and incarceration of people who
inject drugs are fundamental requirements to avert this huge public health disaster."
The International AIDS Society (IAS) and the Global Commission on Drug Policy ar
e organizing a 'High Level Panel on Drug Policies and Public Health' on 30 June 2013, in Kuala Lumpur, prior to the 7th IAS
Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention (IAS 2013) and a Special Session on 'Evidence-Based Drug Policies for an Effective HIV Response' on 1 July 2013 at 13.00, as part of the IAS
2013 Programme.
For more information on the report please contact Mara.Nakagawa - Harwood@iasociety.org .
About the IAS:
The International AIDS Society (IAS) is the world's leading independent association of HIV professionals, with over 16,000 members from
more than 196 countries working at all levels of the global response to AIDS. The IAS members include researchers from all disciplines,
clinicians, public health and community practitioners on the frontlines of the epidemic, as well as policy and programme planners.
The IAS is lead organizer of the IAS Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention, which will be held in Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia, 30 June – 3 July 2013 and custodian of the biennial International AIDS Conference, which will be held in Melbourne,
Australia, 20-25 July 2014. www.iasociety.org | www.ias2013.org | www.aids2014.org
Source: International AIDS Society
"Reproduced with permission - International AIDS Society"
International AIDS Society
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