The International
AIDS Society convened the 3rd International HIV/Viral
Hepatitis Co-Infection Meeting on 17 July 2016 as part of the pre-conference program preceding the 21st International
AIDS Conference held in Durban, South Africa. The meeting brought together a diversity of scientific, technical and community interests to discuss opportunities and challenges for increased prevention, diagnosis and treatment of viral
hepatitis in people living with HIV, particularly in low- and middle-income settings. The objectives of the meeting were:i.To review the latest therapeutic developments in viral
hepatitis;ii.To identify challenges such as high cost of medications for hepatitis C virus (HCV) and risk of developing viral resistance, and successes, such as the provision of HCV treatment in community-based settings, movements to reduce drug costs and increasing access, in relation to scaling up diagnosis, screening,
antiviral treatment and prevention of viral
hepatitis;iii.To advance the agenda for elimination of viral
hepatitis as a public health problem. Discussions centred around the six key interventions outlined by the World Health Organization Global Health Sector Strategy on Viral
Hepatitis 2016-2021: hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccination (including birth dose); safe injection practices plus safe blood; harm reduction among people who inject drugs; safer sex practices;
hepatitis B treatment; and
hepatitis C cure. This article summarizes the main issues and findings discussed during the pre-conference meeting. One of the recommendations from the meeting delegates is universal implementation of birth dose vaccination for HBV without further delay to prevent mother-to-child transmission of
infection. There is also the need to implement screening and treatment of
hepatitis among pregnant women. A call was made for concerted efforts to be put together by all stakeholders towards addressing some of the structural barriers, including criminalization of drug use, discrimination and stigma that people living with viral
hepatitis face. Finally, the need for greater advocacy was highlighted to enable access to therapy of viral
hepatitis at lower cost than currently prevails. Implementation of these resolutions will help in achieving the target of eliminating viral
hepatitis as a public health threat.