Breakthrough advances in recent years have made hepatitis C treatment highly effective and affordable in most low- and middle-income countries. However, limited awareness and insufficient access to care severely hinder efforts to eliminate the disease, particularly amongst communities where rates of transmission are the highest.

Unitaid’s funding will support the integration of hepatitis C testing and treatment within harm reduction programs and trial the use of two products to prevent infection: low dead space syringes and new, long-acting formulations of buprenorphine, a medicine used in opioid agonist therapy.

Judy Chang the Executive Director of the International Network of People who Use Drugs (INPUD) said they welcome Unitaid’s commitment to preventing hepatitis C through harm reduction approaches and, importantly, for centering meaningful community involvement from its inception.

The projects will also generate evidence critical to enabling the broader use of low dead space syringes and long-acting buprenorphine, including understanding user preferences, addressing high costs, increasing demand, and demonstrating effective delivery.