Urgent action is required to improve efforts to prevent hepatitis B and C infections in the EU/EEA and the UK if the region is to meet the 2020 targets for the elimination of viral hepatitis as a serious threat to public health. Significant gaps in the reported data in relation to prevalence and prevention of HBV and HCV in EU/EEA and the UK present a major challenge to monitoring progress towards the targets for elimination of hepatitis.
This guidance aims to provide EU/EEA countries with an evidence-based framework to help develop, implement, monitor and evaluate their own national HBV, HCV and HIV testing guidelines and programmes.
This evidence-based guidance is designed to inform the development, monitoring and evaluation of national strategies and programmes in countries in Europe in order to reduce and prevent infections among people who inject drugs.
The content of this joint guidance was developed by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) with the support of a technical advisory group composed of policy makers, service providers, civil society representatives and preventative health experts from throughout the EU/EEA.