ECAB experts in Romania will discuss access to treatment of viral hepatitis

On October 6-8, in Bucharest (Romania), will be held the 10th meeting of the Community Advisory Board in Eastern Europe and Central Asia (ECAB). The core discussions will be devoted to the issues of treatment of viral hepatitis and HIV as a co-infection.  
David Ananiashvili, permanent participant of ECAB, Director of the Georgian GROUP PLUS and representative of the East Europe and Central Asia Union of People Living with HIV (ECUO), will participate in the meeting and will raise matters on expanding access to innovative treatment methods in all countries of the European region.
The program agenda on October 7 includes the meeting and panel discussion with the pharmaceutical companies Janssen, Cepheid, Merck & Co, wherein the future models SITGES, will be discussed. The model declares access to treatment and care of people living with hepatitis C, regardless whether a person lives with hepatitis C only, or with HIV co-infection.
As part of the meeting, Ivan Gutin, The World Health Organization, will present the Global WHO Report on Hepatitis and priority goals for the region; Lyudmila Maystat, Medicines Patent Pool, will tell about advocacy of expanding access to affordable quality drugs and new opportunities for the organization; Ioan Peter, EATG, Carusel, will present report on prospects of development of civil society in Romania, and about viral hepatitis treatment; Marina Gogia, EATG, Georgian Network of Harm Reduction, will share data on patients’ access to treatment with modern drugs of direct action, etc. in the EECA region. Also the discussion will be on the strategies of access to treatment of viral hepatitis in the European region, a model of work of civil society organizations to expand access to treatment, media support of the NGOs and communities, sharing information on best experience in the treatment of hepatitis, coordination and expansion of cooperation with pharmaceutical companies to define the communities needs.
We will document the meeting results in the report and place it on website ecuo.org.