22 July 2019
World Hepatitis Day Oration: Renewed Calls for Needle & Syringe Program in ACT Prison
World Hepatitis Day takes place every year on 28 July. The theme for 2019 is ‘Find the Missing Millions’. Worldwide, 300 million people are living with viral hepatitis unaware. Without finding the undiagnosed and linking them to care, millions will continue to suffer, and lives will be lost. AIVL is calling on governments to ensure that people in custodial settings are not forgotten within this context.
In December 2018 Minister for Health, the Honourable Greg Hunt MP released the Fifth National Hepatitis C Strategy. This key document outlines Australia’s priorities in the aim to eliminate hepatitis C as a public health concern by 2030.
This year, join us to hear directly from Minister Hunt and other senior staff from the Australian Government Department of Health as they discuss the importance of custodial settings in terms of Australia’s comprehensive national focus on the elimination of hepatitis C, and how the implementation of needle and syringe programs (NSP) in custodial settings is an important initiative within this broader context.
AIVL is the national organisation representing people who use/have used illicit drugs and is the peak body for the state and territory peer-based drug user organisations.
Watch this space for presentations, videos and photos to follow from the event.