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Member Update
October 2015
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Hepatitis C advocacy and the change in government
With the change in government overnight, comes a change in how advocacy groups can expect to engage at a national level. In the coming months we look forward to being able to direct advocacy resources to drug policy reform, particularly harm reduction. As AHC member rep Jason Altenberg from South Riverdale CHC stated succinctly at the Ontario members meeting last week, "The hepatitis C epidemic will continue as long as we criminalize drug use."
To that end, Richard Elliot of the Legal Network has shared this new study that gives evidence to opioid substitution therapy, in combination with needle exchange, reducing the transmission of hepatitis C, which can be used in our combined advocacy efforts.
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We will continue to advocate as well for a national strategic plan to work towards the elimination of hepatitis C in Canada. We will be working to leverage the recent Canadian endorsement of the PAHO Action Plan to Prevent and Control Viral Hepatitis, and the written response from both the NDP and Liberal parties to our question, "What would your government do to work towards the elimination of hepatitis C in Canada?" Stay tuned!
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AHC Position Statement on Access to Treatment
In case you missed it, we recently released our first position statement. You can view it here, and share your feedback here.
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Our first provincial members meeting was a great success!
Members came and were really present and engaged, giving feedback both about what they would like to see the AHC do, and also what they are willing to commit to doing at their own organizations. A summary of the meeting will be available to share soon, but there was a clear message that the Ontario members want more opportunities to collaborate, and they want the AHC to take the lead on the development of a National Strategy. We look forward to replicating this meeting in other provinces in 2016!
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World Hepatitis Summit - Webinar
Friday, October 23 @ 12pm ET
Learn more about what we learned in Glasgow!
Join our very own Jeff Potts on Friday at noon.
The Canadian Society for International Health (CSIH), in partnership with the Interagency Coalition on AIDS and Development (ICAD) and the Action Hepatitis Canada (AHC), cordially invite you to a webinar that will provide insights from the World Hepatitis Summit and Pre-Summit Members Conference that took place from August 30 - September 4, 2015 in Glasgow, Scotland, UK. Please see attached the SAVE the DATE announcement for more information.
When: Friday, October 23, 12-1pm ET
Where: via webinar (please see confirmation of registration for more details)
Registration: Please contact Kate Alexander to RSVP to the webinar via KAlexander@icad-cisd.com
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Next F2F Steering Commitee Meeting
The Steering Committee will meet in Vancouver, BC on November 9-10, 2015, directly preceding the 2nd International Hepatitis Cure and Eradication Meeting.
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