EHRN presents policy brief “Current situation regarding access to hepatitis C treatment in Eastern Europe and Central Asia”. The policy brief summarizes key findings from an assessment of hepatitis C treatment accessibility in EECA undertaken by the Eurasian Harm Reduction Network (EHRN). Mapping was conducted from October to December 2011 in six countries of Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EECA): Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Lithuania, Russia and Ukraine and updated with some information from Bulgaria, Estonia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belorussia, Latvia, and Uzbekistan in September-November, 2012. The main goal of the mapping was to assess access to pegylated interferon and ribavirin. Based on the mapping's findings, EHRN has formulated recommendations on how to remove the identified barriers to access and improve the situation. These recommendations target both international stakeholders, including WHO and multinational pharmaceutical companies, as well as national ones. You can find policy brief here.

Based on the assessment three advocacy instruments were also developed: (1) “Situation assessment: hepatitis C treatment costs in EECA countries”; (2) Evaluation of protocols for chronic hepatitis C treatment in EECA countries; (3) Evaluation of national programmes on viral hepatitis C in EECA countries. These tools may help users to evaluate: the extent to which current prices of hepatitis C drugs differ from an optimal price in the region; the potential for reducing hepatitis C treatment costs, even if using patented drugs, by increasing the volume of centralized procurement; the extent to which national legislation allows the use of non-patented hepatitis C drugs when such products emerge on the market; the possibility of using important “flexibilities” in international trade agreements, such as compulsory licensing, in order to overcome the high cost of patented medicines; the degree to which countries’ clinical protocols for hepatitis C treatment comply with international best practices; the country's national strategy or programme on viral hepatitis; the national health ministry's programme on viral hepatitis (if one exists).

·         Hepatitis C policy brief updated

·         Hepatitis C national programme evaluation instrument

·         Hepatitis C treatment cost instrument

·         Hepatitis C treatment protocols evaluation instrument

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