Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-07-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how the UK plans to meet its commitment to the elimination of viral hepatitis by 2030 made at the 69th World Health Assembly in May 2016.
Nicola Blackwood
On 28 May 2016, the World Health Assembly adopted a Global Health Sector Strategy on viral hepatitis for the period 2016-2021. Within this strategy there is a target for elimination of hepatitis C as a major public health threat by 2030. This is a very ambitious goal and requires coordinated efforts across partner agencies. Success is largely dependent on the wider availability and access to new treatments combined with effective planning and integration of hepatitis prevention, testing, diagnosis and treatment within the broader health system.
In the United Kingdom, new, highly effective, interferon-free treatments for hepatitis C will contribute to this goal. 5,000 of those affected have already been treated with the new therapies, under the early access schemes operated by NHS England from 2014 to the start of 2016. NHS England are currently funding providers to treat more patients in accordance with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance.
