Where in the world
Financing doesn ’ t have to be a barrier
With the question of how we pay for the hepatitis response never far from anyone ’ s lips , the sessions on financing were some of the most anticipated . While only 35 % of national plans currently have funding strategies attached to them , the resounding message was that financing needn ’ t be a barrier to elimination . WHO estimates that financing the hepatitis response will cost approximately $ 6 billion per year for all low-and middle-income countries ; a figure that was starkly contrasted with the $ 3 billion spent on the 2010 South Africa World Cup and the $ 4 billion India spent on the Commonwealth Games . Coinciding with the event was the publication of this article in the Lancet stressing the need for donors to enter the space while an evening event acted
as the soft launch of ENDhep2030 , a dedicated fund to eliminating hepatitis . To support discussions around financing , we launched our National Viral Hepatitis Programme Financing Strategy Template that aims to guide governments on how to adopt a strategic approach to costing and financing programmes . Across the sessions , presenters reiterated that integration into wider health systems will be key to achieving elimination and crucially , as Homie Razavi , CDA Foundation , reminded us , “ countries will spend less eliminating hepatitis C than doing nothing at all ”. 8 hepVoice November / December 2017