Project to be executed in phases across five state-run hospitals under nominated officers
With support from the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) of the Government of the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, the Institute of Liver & Biliary Sciences (ILBS) and Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND) today jointly convened an orientation workshop for the HEAD-start (Hepatitis C Elimination through Access to Diagnostics) project in the National Capital.
ILBS and FIND are preparing to implement the Unitaid-funded HEAD-Start project, which involves Hepatitis C Elimination through Access to Diagnostics (HEAD-Start) and is designed to enhance availability and accessibility of hepatitis C testing services.
The project will be executed in a phased manner across five government-run hospitals identified by the DGHS: Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya Hospital, Maharshi Valmiki Hospital, Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Hospital, Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital, and Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital. A physician and a microbiologist from each hospital have been nominated as nodal officers for the project.
"This project will generate evidence for the implementation of effective diagnostic tools, and provide an operational service delivery model for the design of an integrated diagnostics and treatment blueprint, which will inform policymakers at both the state and central levels," said Dr Sanjay Sarin, Head of FIND India.
The workshop supports capacity building of nodal officers and project staff for HCV diagnosis and treatment. Dr Shiv Kumar Sarin, ILBS Director, inaugurated the workshop and welcomed the participants. He highlighted the importance of hepatitis C elimination and commented that through the ILBS-FIND HEAD-Start project, India has now an unprecedented opportunity to detect the missing people infected with HCV.
Under the project, a series of coordinated interventions will be undertaken to enhance the increased availability of, and accessibility to, Hepatitis C testing. The project aims to contribute to the development of a well-functioning network providing a decentralized diagnosis for Hepatitis C, with effective linkage to treatment centers in Delhi.
Delhi, with a population of about 18 million people, is estimated to have a high burden of hepatitis C infected individuals. In order to address this significant disease burden, diagnosis of hepatitis C followed by treatment with direct-acting antivirals (DAA) is critical. The HEAD-Start project in Delhi aims to enhance hepatitis C diagnosis and treatment pathways in both the general and high-risk populations. This includes patients with clinical findings, people who inject drugs, individuals with HIV co-infection, patients on dialysis and patients who have undergone blood transfusions.
HEALTHY GOALS
ILBS and FIND are preparing to implement the Unitaid-funded HEAD-Start project, which involves Hepatitis C Elimination through Access to Diagnostics (HEAD-Start)
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