World Hepatitis Day 2009 in Croatia

This year's marking of the World Hepatitis Day, like before, we have organized in cooperation with the ELPA and the WHA, and associations members of the Croatian Alliance of the Hepatitis Patients Associations, stressing the national campaign for destigmatization of the hepatitis patients.

• The campaign started this year somewhat earlier with participating of our president at the 19th (thematic) meeting of the Committee for Health and Social Welfare of the Croatian Parliament on “Problems of viral hepatitis in the Republic of Croatia“ where the Resolution on Viral Hepatitis and the Action Plan for its conducting proposal was accepted, suggesting the Government and the Parliament to accept the same document at the occasion of the World Hepatitis Day 19/05
• Invited by the organizer, we participated with our stand and distribution of informational-educational materials at the 5th Congress of  Croatian Society of Gastroenterology in Dubrovnik 02 - 05 05 2009
• At the occasion of marking the World Hepatitis Day, we sent 313 letters with informational-educational materials to all MP's, physicians gastroenterologists and virologists, heads of Public Health Institute and media, asking them to support our work and marking of the WHD
• Among 50 media appearances on TV, radio, internet portals and press, we underline  those in TV show “Dobro jutro, Hrvatska“ and in “Izaberi zdravlje“ hosted by Marijo Harapin, on radio.
• On 19/05 in all of our national and regional press;  Glas Slavonije, Jutarnji list, Novi list, Zadarski list, Slobodna Dalmacija and Dubrovacki vjesnik we paid advertisments that called people to testing and vaccination.
  On the organizer's invitation, we participated in the workshop „The Role of a General Practitioner In Multidisciplinary Approach To Viral Hepatitides“ organized at the occasion of the WHD on 14/05 in Public Health Institute “Andrija Stampar“ in Zagreb.
• Members of our association, together with our branch members “Hepatos-Zagreb“ participated in the Symposium at Clinic for Infective diseases “Dr Fran Mihaljevic“ in Zagreb on 15/05 2009, organized at the occasion of marking the WHD. Beside a stand with informational-educational materials where we distributed T-shirts, our president held a lecture „What Can We Do to Improve Quality Of Life for the Hepatitis Patients”.
• On 23/05 members of our branch in Rijeka organized stand with distribution of informational-educational materials
  On 23/05 in Split we also had a stand during the 12th Day of Volunteer Work
• On 19/05 in Dubrovnik, members of our branch in Dubrovnik together with staff of virological department of General Hospital, were dressed in T-shirts with the inscription "Am I number 12?" and disseminated informational and educational materials for patients.
• We organized free and anonymous testing in Knin with distribution of informational and educational materials

This year is special regarding to marking WHD because on 22nd May 2009, the Croatian Parliament accepted a Resolution on Viral Hepatitis. Our many-years long efforts in lobbying and advocating made the path for to the Resolution to come to life. MPs Stjepan Milinkovic and Zeljko Jovanovic highlighted the contribution of Hepatos and ELPA to the first health Resolution vote in Croatia.