The urgent need for improved hepatitis C prevention, care and treatment for people who inject drugs in Indonesia

PKNI has launched its first issue brief on the urgent need for access to prevention, treatment and Hepatitis C treatment for people who inject drugs in Indonesia.

The briefing maps the hepatitis C situation among our community and the national response to hepatitis C in Indonesia. Indonesia has one of the highest rates of viral hepatitis in Southeast Asia, with an estimated 7 million people infected with the hepatitis C virus. Of the estimated 105,784 people who inject drugs in Indonesia, more than two-thirds have HCV -- a rate that now far exceeds levels of HIV infection among our community.

Although there is no vaccine for hepatitis C, transmission is preventable, and infection is treatable and curable. Unfortunately, prices for supporting diagnostic tests and for antiviral treatment remain far out of reach of the most vulnerable and affected communities of drug users.

To ensure that prevention, treatment, and care services and appropriately targeted, the meaningful involvement of people who use drugs role in designing, implementing, monitoring and evaluating the program is crucial.

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