Deaths from serious hepatitis C related liver disease fell from 380 to 319, thanks to new curative treatments. But while England has exceeded the World Health Organization’s (WHO) target to reduce hepatitis C related mortality by 10% by 2020, challenges still exit to eliminate the disease in this country.

These new data were announced today (9 April 2019) at the PHE Research and Science Conference. PHE is urging those who may have been at risk of contracting hepatitis C, especially if they have ever injected drugs, to get tested.

As well as the fall in hepatitis C deaths, greater access to new curative treatments is also linked to a reduction in the number of people with the disease requiring liver transplants. In 2017, registrations for a liver transplant due to hepatitis C fell to a 10-year low of 63, a 53% decrease compared to pre-2015 levels.

Challenges remain if we are to meet the WHO’s target of eliminating hepatitis C by 2030 at the latest, with 113,000 people estimated to be living with chronic hepatitis C in England in 2018.

Estimates indicate that up to 79,000 people are currently living with undiagnosed active hepatitis C infection. This is because people with the infection often have no specific symptoms until their liver has been significantly damaged and so are unaware they are infected. When symptoms do occur, they can often be mistaken for other conditions.

Dr Helen Harris, Senior Scientist at PHE, said:

Hepatitis C infection can have devastating consequences, so the fact that more people are accessing treatment and fewer people are dying from the disease, is a huge and very welcome step forward. Yet, more needs to be done if we are to eliminate this disease as a major public health threat in England. Over a hundred thousand people in this country are thought to be living with this serious infection, and we know that significant numbers of them are unaware they are infected.

Anyone who may be at risk of infection, in particular those who have ever injected drugs, even if they injected only once or in the past, should get tested. Given that new treatments provide a cure in around 95% of those who take them, there has never been a better time to get tested.

In 2018, PHE and NHS England launched a national exercise to identify and treat patients who have been diagnosed with hepatitis C in the past but who may not have cleared their infections. The NHS is in the process of contacting these patients to offer testing, so those with current infection can be referred for assessment for treatment.

Professor Graham Foster, NHS national clinical lead for the Hepatitis C networks, said:

NHS England has invested several hundred million pounds to cure thousands of people with hepatitis C, resulting in dramatic progress on saving lives and reducing the number of liver transplants.

And, with support from drug manufacturers, there is now a real opportunity to eliminate hepatitis C in England before the World Health Organization’s goal of 2030.

Rachel Halford, Chief Executive at the Hepatitis C Trust said:

It is encouraging to see deaths from hepatitis C-related liver disease falling as more patients access DAA treatments. It is, however, essential that we work to find the estimated 40 to 50% of patients who remain undiagnosed and support them to access treatment services – to stop unnecessary deaths and ensure we reach elimination of hepatitis C by 2030 at the latest. Anyone who thinks they may have been at risk of transmission should get tested – The Hepatitis C Trust website hosts a simple quiz which can tell you whether you may have been at risk.

Hepatitis C is spread through blood-to-blood contact, most commonly in England by sharing needles contaminated with the virus, but even sharing razors or toothbrushes with an infected person could pass on the virus. If untreated, infection with hepatitis C can lead to liver damage, cancer and death. If people aren’t sure about whether they are at risk, they can take a short quiz on The Hepatitis C Trust website to find out if they should get tested.

Hepatitis C (HCV) is a bloodborne virus that is often asymptomatic, and symptoms may not appear until the liver is severely damaged. As a consequence, many individuals with chronic HCV infection remain undiagnosed and fail to access treatment. These individuals can then present late with complications of HCV-related end-stage liver disease (ESLD) and cancer, which have poor survival rates.

For further information on symptoms, please visit the NHS website.

There was a 127% increase in treatment in 2017 compared to pre-2015 levels.

Between 2005 and 2014, death registrations for HCV-related ESLD and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in England more than doubled, rising from 182 in 2005 to 381 in 2014. Since 2014, however, deaths have been falling, with a fall of 16.3% between 2014 and 2017.

Three years ago, the UK government committed to a joint ambition with 193 other countries to eliminate the disease as a major public health threat by 2030. As well as testing and treatment, prevention through needle and syringe exchange services and opiate substitution therapies need to be sustained to achieve and maintain elimination.

Injecting drugs with unsterile injecting equipment, particularly needles and syringes, can put people at risk of hepatitis C infection, even if they injected only once or twice in the past. Others at risk of hepatitis C include those who have received blood transfusions before September 1991 or blood products before 1986 in the UK. People who originate from countries with a higher prevalence of infection, such as South Asia, are also at risk, often following medical or dental treatment with unsterile equipment.

The Ambassadors of the G 19+ express our support for the UN-led political process, the efforts of UN Special Envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths, and the implementation of the outcomes of the December 2018 consultations in Stockholm. We appreciate the Republic of Yemen Government’s support for the UN-led political process.

We express our support of the Republic of Yemen Government. We welcome the Yemeni government’s efforts to improve security, public services, and livelihoods, and in particular note recent progress on salary payments and agreeing a budget for 2019. We urge further efforts to pay all civilian public salaries swiftly and to ensure timely publication of the budget. We also underscore the need for the international community to support the Yemeni government’s focus on providing services to the entire population in Yemen, pay salaries, alleviate humanitarian suffering, and reinforce the economic recovery and reconstruction.

We are concerned that the value of the Yemeni Riyal and the economic situation in Yemen remain fragile, which requires concerted actions to build on the achieved steps. In this regard, we commend the Saudi Government’s economic support including fuel assistance, monthly financial support to the electricity sector and to the Central Bank of Yemen, which has reached $3.2 billion.

We strongly support the emergency action plan adopted by the Central Bank of Yemen aimed at stabilizing the Yemeni Riyal to improve the economic and humanitarian situation and living conditions of all the Yemeni people. We support the measures taken by the government to curb illicit fuel imports.

We emphasize the importance of economic development in alleviating the humanitarian situation, and stress the need for supporting small and micro enterprises which have a positive impact in relieving the humanitarian disaster in Yemen. We underline the importance of the continued and unhindered flow of humanitarian and commercial supplies, including fuel and food, through Hudaydah and Saleef, as well as onward supply routes. We commend all international efforts and assistance provided to the Yemeni people to help mitigate the humanitarian situation in Yemen.

A statement from the G 19+ countries on the situation in Yemen.

International Development Secretary delivers a speech at Canada House about the UK’s leadership with Canada on gender equality

Thank you everyone for being here and thank you to Canada for hosting us.

A lot of people have thanked me for coming along today because they know the turmoil that Parliament is in, all the stresses and strains that are going on and it is difficult times that is for sure. And quite a lot of people say to me how do you keep going, why have you stuck with it, why have you stayed there. I say something like it is my duty, the country needs us to find a way through, we need to hold Remainers and Brexiteers together. But the real reason is that I want to stay in post to attend Women Deliver.

It is fantastic today to be able to celebrate our partnership on gender equality, announced by our Prime Ministers in 2017.

It is wonderful to be amongst so many amazing women who it is my privilege to know a few of you and the amazing work you do. And also some amazing men as well. Dom McVey, a CDC supported entrepreneur who has done fantastic work on women’s economic empowerment and now is launching some new initiatives to help end period poverty worldwide. Thank you to all the fellas who are also doing their bit too.

And there is a lot to celebrate. In the UK the female employment rate is at a record high and the gender pay gap is at a record low. We’ve introduced new laws to protect women from domestic abuse, FGM, stalking, and forced marriage.

My department, the Government Equalities Office, this month moved into the Cabinet Office, the hub and the heart of Whitehall to really ensure that we are delivering. And the only female mouser the Cabinet Office cat, has received a promotion too.

Meanwhile, in Canada you have created a Department for Women and Gender Equality. You have made gender budgeting a mandatory part of the federal budget-making process, and delivering your strategy to prevent gender-based violence, and have recently passed into law protections for pay equality, based on the UK’s gender pay gap reporting, I am delighted at that.

But all too often, in too much of the world, women’s rights are actually being rolled back. Britain and Canada has shown real leadership together on this issue and that leadership is needed now more than ever.

Millions of girls and women are living in poverty, denied an education, have inadequate healthcare, are routinely assaulted, unable to live full and happy lives. And no country has yet achieved gender equality.

The Sustainable Development Goals are a vital way to drive and measure change. This year, the UK will be reporting on our progress towards implementing them, as part of our Voluntary National Review.

Global Goal 5, on gender equality, is critical in and of itself, but without it we will never be able to deliver on the other goals. Everyone, whatever their gender, has a stake in gender equality.

Domestically and overseas, the UK is championing efforts to better understand the situation of the poorest and most marginalised women. Just last month, I announced vital new work to end period poverty and shame in the UK and overseas. I also announced our upcoming strategy to ensure that every woman in the UK has freedom, choice, capacity, resilience, support, and protection to do whatever she wants to do.

Freedom and choice are guiding principles for all our gender equality work. There are people around the world who want to control women, who want to restrict their choices and deny them their rights.

That’s why it is so important that we use platforms like Women Deliver continually to renew our commitment to women’s rights and specifically to comprehensive sexual and reproductive rights for all women.

Leadership means not shying away from the issues of access to safe abortion, when the evidence shows us that these services save women’s lives.

Comprehensive Sexual Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR) is an area where the UK and Canada are continuing to deepen our partnership as likeminded leaders in this field.

In January this year, we co-hosted a multi sector Safe Abortion dialogue here in London to drive progress and momentum in this absolutely critical area.

And at the Commission on the Status of Women last month we held a strong line together, resisting the “pushback” as the Secretary General called it.

We are united in our efforts to work with the most complex and challenging issues that threaten women’s health and lives when others are shying away from them and I thank Canada for their leadership in this area.

Everyone should have control over their own bodies and their own futures. That means every girl and every woman having access to the information they need, the freedom to choose what’s right for them, and the services and support they need to make their own decisions.

I am proud that thanks to UK aid, millions of women in the world’s poorest countries are able access the desperately-needed sexual and reproductive health services they need and want to use. The UK has been a world leader in this area and will proudly continue to be one.

My Department is also supporting the deepening of civil society partnerships through our UK aid Connect programme.

A new £42 million programme looking at SRHR will support two consortia of NGO partners on this theme, and I am pleased to announce that these will be led by Marie Stopes International and the International Planned Parenthood Federation.

This programme will drive innovation and learning by bringing diverse partners together to work on complex and neglected issues such as increasing access to safe abortion and improving the provision of SRHR in crisis settings.

Some of the most marginalised women and girls in the world are those living in conflict and crisis areas. Together we are pushing for a humanitarian system that responds to women and girls’ specific needs, but also sees them as active agents of change.

We worked closely with Canada to develop the landmark G7 Whistler Declaration on Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women and Girls in Humanitarian Action.

We are now teaming up to implement these commitments, including through the Call to Action on Protection from Gender Based Violence in Emergencies.

Successful societies are those where women have control over their own bodies, are places where every mother can enjoy a wanted and healthy pregnancy, where every child can live beyond their fifth birthday, where no woman or girl is forced to marry before she is ready.

Together with our partners, including Canada, we are supporting the UNICEF and UNFPA global programme, working to end child marriage, reaching millions of adolescent girls across 12 countries, and have co-sponsored every UN resolution on ending child marriage.

We will continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with Canada on the international stage to realise the rights of all the world’s women and girls.

This was demonstrated recently at a joint side event at the Commission on the Status of Women on LGBT rights. I look forwards to deepening our collaboration through Women Deliver and beyond.

We must empower women to make their own decisions. We must give women the freedom to choose what is right for them.

We must invest in them so that they can complete their education and fulfil their full potential.

And we should recognise gender equality as one of the great human rights issues of our time.

Thank you.