National plan launched to eliminate Hepatitis C

Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield with staff at the Anglesea Pharmacy in Hamilton.

It’s the number one reason Kiwis need a liver transplant, and now a national plan has been launched to eliminate hepatitis C by 2030.

Associate Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall launched the National Hepatitis C Action Plan at a mobile, pop-up testing clinic in Hamilton today – World Hepatitis Day.

Pharmac now funds Maviret – a “game-changer” – and about 4500 New Zealanders with hepatitis C have been treated since February 2019, Verrall said.

Free clinics are popping up around the country today to provide testing for the blood-borne disease, including at several pharmacies.