{"id":1058,"date":"2026-05-29T09:58:22","date_gmt":"2026-05-29T08:58:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/destine-ethiopia.org\/?p=1058"},"modified":"2026-05-29T10:13:28","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T09:13:28","slug":"destine-newsletter-may-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.dundee.ac.uk\/destine-ethiopia\/2026\/05\/29\/destine-newsletter-may-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"DESTINE NEWSLETTER May 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\"Poster<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Delegates<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Dr<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"prof<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Delegates<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n

<\/p>\n

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Delivering Hepatitis C Solutions in Ethiopia<\/h1>\n

Key insights from the DESTINE Final Annual Meeting<\/strong><\/p>\n

25 February 2026 | Addis Ababa, Ethiopia<\/em><\/p>\n<\/section>\n

<\/p>\n

\n

The fight against Hepatitis C (HCV) in Ethiopia took an important step forward at the DESTINE Project Final Annual Meeting<\/strong>, held in Addis Ababa on 25 February 2026. Researchers, clinicians, policymakers, and public health leaders came together to share new evidence and practical strategies to support Ethiopia\u2019s journey toward eliminating Hepatitis C by 2030.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n

<\/p>\n

\n

Why This Work Matters<\/h2>\n

Hepatitis C is a blood-borne virus that can lead to liver cirrhosis and cancer if untreated. With the availability of highly effective treatments, global elimination is now possible\u2014but requires strong national strategies.<\/p>\n

    \n
  • Understand the scale of HCV in Ethiopia<\/li>\n
  • Model disease burden and treatment impact<\/li>\n
  • Develop effective testing and treatment pathways<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/section>\n

    <\/p>\n

    \n

    A Collaborative Effort<\/h2>\n

    The meeting brought together key stakeholders, including:<\/p>\n

      \n
    • Federal Ministry of Health, Ethiopia<\/li>\n
    • Ethiopian Public Health Institute (EPHI)<\/li>\n
    • Blood and tissue services<\/li>\n
    • Universities and clinical providers<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/section>\n

      <\/p>\n

      \n

      Key Findings<\/h2>\n

      1. Hepatitis C Prevalence is Lower Than Expected<\/h3>\n

      General population prevalence: 0.2%<\/strong> \u2014 around 10 times lower than previous estimates.<\/p>\n

        \n
      • People who inject drugs: 2.9%<\/strong><\/li>\n
      • Prisoners: 1.2\u20134%<\/strong><\/li>\n
      • Healthcare workers: ~1.1%<\/strong><\/li>\n
      • Blood donors: 0.4\u20130.82%<\/strong><\/li>\n
      • People with non-Hodgkin\u2019s lymphoma 5.1%<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        \ud83d\udc49 Implication:<\/strong> Targeted screening is more appropriate than universal screening.<\/p>\n

        2. Targeted Screening is More Cost-Effective<\/h3>\n

        Modelling shows that while universal screening is effective, targeting populations with prevalence \u22651% provides significant cost savings.<\/p>\n

        3. Gaps in Care Pathways<\/h3>\n
          \n
        • Patients often do not progress to confirmatory PCR testing<\/li>\n
        • Treatment pathways are fragmented<\/li>\n
        • Expired medications highlight inefficiencies<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

          \ud83d\udc49 The issue is not just diagnosis\u2014but completing the pathway to cure.<\/strong><\/p>\n

          4. Challenges with Diagnostics<\/h3>\n

          Concerns were raised about non-validated antibody tests leading to false positives and reduced clinician confidence.<\/p>\n

          \ud83d\udc49 Recommendation:<\/strong> Use WHO-approved or quality-assured tests nationwide.<\/p>\n

          5. Communication Gaps<\/h3>\n

          Weak communication between stakeholders affects access to testing, treatment, and efficient resource use.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n

          <\/p>\n

          \n

          Recommendations for Ethiopia\u2019s HCV Strategy<\/h2>\n
            \n
          • Focus screening on high-risk groups<\/li>\n
          • Adopt validated diagnostic tests<\/li>\n
          • Strengthen linkage from diagnosis to treatment<\/li>\n
          • Improve coordination between stakeholders<\/li>\n
          • Reduce waste in drug procurement<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/section>\n

            <\/p>\n

            \n

            Looking Ahead<\/h2>\n

            Ethiopia has the tools to eliminate Hepatitis C. Success will depend on smarter targeting, stronger health systems, and improved collaboration across stakeholders.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n

            <\/p>\n

            \n

            This research was funded by the NIHR (133208) using UK international development funding from the UK Government to support global health research. The views expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NIHR or the UK government..<\/p>\n<\/section>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

            Delivering Hepatitis C Solutions in Ethiopia Key insights from the DESTINE Final Annual Meeting 25 February 2026 | Addis Ababa, Ethiopia The fight against Hepatitis C (HCV) in Ethiopia took an important step forward at the DESTINE Project Final Annual Meeting, held in Addis Ababa on 25 February 2026. Researchers, clinicians, policymakers, and public health […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":936,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1058","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-newsletter","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.dundee.ac.uk\/destine-ethiopia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1058","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.dundee.ac.uk\/destine-ethiopia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.dundee.ac.uk\/destine-ethiopia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.dundee.ac.uk\/destine-ethiopia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/936"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.dundee.ac.uk\/destine-ethiopia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1058"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sites.dundee.ac.uk\/destine-ethiopia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1058\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1082,"href":"https:\/\/sites.dundee.ac.uk\/destine-ethiopia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1058\/revisions\/1082"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.dundee.ac.uk\/destine-ethiopia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1058"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.dundee.ac.uk\/destine-ethiopia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1058"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.dundee.ac.uk\/destine-ethiopia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1058"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}