1. The Role of Public Health in Hepatitis Elimination
ENDING THE EPIDEMICS:
The Role of Public Health in Hepatitis Elimination
Murray Penner, Executive Director
Welcome to the 6th National Hepatitis Technical Assistance Meeting convened by NASTAD!
The theme of this year’s meeting is “Ending the Epidemics: The Role of Public Health in Hepatitis Elimination”
Put another way – this meeting is all about you – and the incredible work you are doing every day to address hepatitis in your jurisdictions
There is a lot of uncertainty in Washington, DC and around the country right now as President-Elect Trump continues to assemble his cabinet and the new Congress prepares to govern. There is also a lot of uncertainty among health departments about how to address the multiple issues related to hepatitis with little to no funding – and with conflicting or mixed messages from CDC
What there isn’t uncertainty about is the scale of the hepatitis epidemics in the US. – There isn’t uncertainty about what needs to be done to prevent new infections. There isn’t uncertainty about the need to test and link people to care, and there is most definitely not uncertainty that everyone living with hepatitis C deserves access to the cure.
This meeting is an opportunity for all of us to come together around our the governmental public health role in eliminating hepatitis. It’s an opportunity to connect with others who have been doing this work for years – and to welcome our colleagues who are new to this work.
The NASTAD staff and I are excited that you are here and are as committed as ever to support your work when you return home.
Before we get into introductions, I’d like to talk through a few slides to help set the context for the next three days.
National Hepatitis Technical Assistance Meeting
December 5-7, 2016

2. Mission and Vision
NASTAD’s mission is to end the intersecting epidemics of HIV, viral hepatitis, and related conditions by strengthening domestic and global governmental public health through advocacy, capacity building, and social justice.
NASTAD's vision is a world free of HIV and viral hepatitis.
Earlier this year NASTAD’s Board of Directors updated our mission. We believe this more accurately reflects all of our work and specifically highlights the critical role of governmental public health – the importance of intersecting and related epidemics and the power of advocacy, capacity building and social justice.

3. Meeting Overview
NASTAD first convened this meeting in 2008 as a venue for health department staff working on hepatitis to share successful strategies, hear from federal partners and network with one another and invited partners
The 2016 National Hepatitis Technical Assistance Meeting
Highlights central role of governmental public health
Prioritizes the prevention, care and treatment needs of people who inject drugs
Seeks to reframe our response to hepatitis C as a health equity and social justice issue
Re-energizes participants to continue their amazing work
How many people have been to all six of NASTAD’s hepatitis meetings? How many of you is this your first meeting?

4. NASTAD Hepatitis History
NASTAD was founded in 1992 as a voice for states
Included harm reduction in program and policy work since founding
Launched hepatitis program in 2000
Support and technical assistance to hepatitis coordinators
Incorporated hepatitis into mission in 2006
Held first hepatitis technical assistance meeting in 2008
Program has grown from one staff to 6+
Integrate hepatitis across all program and policy teams
Initiated Beth Weinstein Drug User Health Fellow in 2015
CDC HCV testing cooperative agreement in Fall 2016
HRSA HAB co-infection cooperative agreement in Fall 2016
A quick history of NASTAD’s hepatitis work.
<at end of slide acknowledge how excited we are to have two new hepatitis staff people joining our team> Alyssa Kitlass who is here this afternoon and will be working on our new CDC HCV testing cooperative agreement
Dan Czajka (Saka) who will join us tomorrow and will be working on our new HRSA HAB co-infection cooperative agreement

5. NASTAD Technical Assistance
Technical assistance is available through the following NASTAD programs
Hepatitis
Drug User Health
Health Equity
Prevention
Health Care Access
Health Systems Integration
Policy & Legislative Affairs
Global
No wrong door! Contact any NASTAD staff!
Review points on slide

6. NASTAD Chair’s Challenge
Ready to End the HIV and Viral Hepatitis Epidemics
Calls on U.S. health departments to accelerate the end of HIV and viral hepatitis in the U.S.
Several major developments means that the next five years will present a critical turning point in determining whether hepatitis C will be controlled or eliminated in the US
A highly efficacious cure
Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Viral Hepatitis Action Plan
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine report and forthcoming elimination strategy
Review points on slide

7. NASTAD Chair’s Challenge
Pass to DeAnn for her remarks

8. Thank You to Our Sponsors
We couldn’t put this meeting on without support from the following sponsors

9. Welcome to Washington, DC