Dear Visitor,

Hepatitis C is a major public health problem in Europe. In the EU, more people die each year from the Hepatitis C virus (HCV) than from HIV. An estimated 15 million Europeans are chronically infected, including 5.5 million living in EU. Even with Europe’s generally good tracking of epidemics, HCV continues to spread undetected as a “silent pandemic” as patients often have no symptoms during the first 20-30 years. In addition to the suffering of patients, the economic burden of the disease is significant due to healthcare costs and indirect loss of productivity.

Recently, experts have started to evoke the idea of the potential elimination of HCV. In particular, they highlight that HCV, as a consequence of major recent therapeutic advances, is curable in the majority of instances. Furthermore, many examples of good practices exist across Europe that, if replicated on a larger scale, have the potential to significantly reduce the number of infections, improve detection rates, and increase the chances for successful treatment.

Due to these developments, the elimination of HCV in Europe is no longer a distant vision but has become a genuine possibility. The ingredients to eliminate one of Europe’s major health burdens are there. Seizing this unique opportunity, however, will require a common commitment to action and close cooperation from all stakeholders involved, in particular policy-makers.

Against this background, the Hepatitis B & C Public Policy Association is organising the first European policy summit dedicated to the elimination of HCV: “Hepatitis C: The beginning of the end – key elements for successful European and national strategies to eliminate HCV in Europe”. The event will bringing together 120-150 EU and national policy-makers, experts and influencers from across Europe, in an exceptional multi-stakeholder set-up to discuss and agree how we can effectively work towards the elimination of HCV in Europe.
The first HCV Policy Summit will take place on 17th February 2016 from 13:30 to 18:30 at the Bibliothèque Solvay in Brussels. It is a by invitation only event.
Info:[email protected]