O GAT subscreve a seguinte declaração enviada pela World Hepatitis Alliance à Organização Mundial de Saúde.

We understand that the Global Hepatitis Programme has now moved from HSE to the HIV department in the HIV, TB and Malaria cluster. While we welcome the move to place hepatitis with the other three major infectious diseases, we would like to be reassured that it will receive adequate priority and resourcing in the new cluster.

In particular we believe it is absolutely essential that the cluster is renamed to include hepatitis and that the HIV department is renamed as the HIV and Hepatitis department, as is happening in many Ministries of Health. If this does not happen, especially in light of the relative sizes of the Global Hepatitis Programme and the HIV department, we believe a clear message will be sent out that hepatitis only really has any significance within the context of HIV.

Indeed, HIV and hepatitis coinfection and its attendant morbidity and mortality are of significant public health concern; but monoinfection, which is the issue for the majority of people living with viral hepatitis, is rendered invisible if the department is not renamed. Hepatitis has been under-prioritised within WHO for many years, largely because it has been addressed as a small part of many other programmes. The Lancet Global Burden of Disease report in December 2012 estimated 2010 hepatitis mortality as effectively the same as that from HIV/AIDS and significantly more than that caused by TB or malaria. We therefore urge you in the strongest terms to ensure that WHO structure reflects that.

Equally, we believe that this level of mortality requires the Global Hepatitis Programme to be adequately resourced. The World Hepatitis Alliance has been advocating with a number of Member States over the last two years for them to second personnel to the Global Hepatitis Programme and they have recently succeeded in persuading Scotland to do so. However, they are now concerned that the Scottish Government will have a change of heart if they do not see adequate commitment from WHO.

As you know, we have requested that WHO show more leadership in hepatitis and we feel that the reorganisation within WHO is one opportunity to show such leadership.

We look forward to your reassurance on this issue,
 

The World Hepatitis Alliance