Outcome of the activities held by ELPA members
2007-11-19 12:00
Controlling hepatitis C represents a major challenge: it is an infectious disease affecting 170 million people world-wide. Raising awareness amongst governments and the public around the world has to be an urgent priority in order to tackle the spread of this chronic condition..
BELGIUM:
Chac organized a symposium in collaboration with The Belgian Association for the Study of the Liver and leading specialists from around the country. Approximately 100 people attended the meeting.
They had great press coverage and got a mention on TV (evening news!). Following the success of the symposium, Chac organized a meeting with the health authorities.
Chac will keep on fighting so the hepatitis situation in Belgium improves soon – they’ll keep you informed on any exciting developments!
Media report:
Newspapers: De Morgen, Gazet van Antwerpen, Het Nieuwsblad
Medical press: De Huisarts, De Artsenkrant
TV: VTM (biggest commercial channel) and ATV (regional channel in Antwerp)
lalibrebelgique.pdf
le_gnraliste.pdf
lesoir.pdf
levif.pdf
mediquality.pdf
whad2007-maroc.pdf
BOSNIA:
The Chronic Hepatitis Patients Association headed up an awareness
campaign which motivated people to get tested. Despite all the
preparations being in place for Oct 1st, due to the sudden death of the
Republic of Srpska's president, Milan Jelic, on September 30, they were
not able to deliver all the activities they planned to. Yet, they
distributed informative brochures (5000 of them!) on hepatitis B and C
in hospitals and had a stand on the central square in Banjaluka.
Because of Jelic's death, all the media captalised on the news of his
passing and sadly there was no space for hepatitis. Having said that,
The Chronic Hepatitis Patients Association held a press conference at
the Clinic of Infectious Diseases on October 9th where they had a
chance to stress how important the early diagnosis of hepatitis B and C
is (as well as the testing and treatment).
This was the first time that the Republic of Srpska’s Health Minister
talked on TV on this subject. He acknowledged the increasing problem of
the spread of hepatitis and announced that as of the next year the
diagnosis rates will improve, access to treatment will be facilitated
and therefore, the needs of patients will be better addressed.
PHOTO GALLERY:
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BULGARIA:
Hepasist had great success with their initiatives:
Their screening day (Sep 30th) was fun as well as very effective.
Together with the help of four dedicated nurses, Hepasist offered free
hepatitis C tests for all during the whole day. It also counted with
the support of medical students who helped spread information about
their campaign. As a result, many people did get tested (463 in total)!
The day started with a press conference which provided a platform for
great media coverage (two – out of three - national TV channels
broadcast it as well as four cable channels and many radio stations.
The news about the event was also on newspapers and online media).
Other major events were happening on the day (local election campaigns’
kick-off, a breast cancer event, activities to celebrate the Heart Day,
etc) but that didn’t take the shine away from Hepasist’s campaign,
which was a big hit!
The results of the testing day were really BAD. Out of 463 people, 26
(5.4%) were tested positive for hepatitis C. This is very worrying – a
few months ago a survey conducted in Sofia and Varna demonstrated
similar results.
Hepatitis C is a huge public health issue in Bulgaria. Hepasist will
keep on fighting so the government recognizes it as such and takes
actions to tackle it.
PHOTO GALLERY:
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CROATIA:
Hepatos, together with members of Alliance of the Ill with Hepatitis of the Republic of Croatia, "Prometej" from Pula and "Hepatos-Osijek", celebrated WHAD 07 in great style! On Sep 29th, hundreds of informative materials were distributed in the main squares of Zagreb, Pula, Rijeka and Zadar. A press conference was held in Osijek and the message was clear: if you think you’ve been at risk, get tested!
MEDIA REPORT:
croatia - photos oct 1 2007.pdf
GERMANY:
Deutsche Leberhilfe conducted a great media campaign around Oct 1st and was quite successful in securing newspieces!
MEDIA REPORT:
ITALY:
Epac successfully reached an estimated 10 million people through their media campaign. They secured 40 radio spots, 4 interviews and they also had 76 mentions in the press (online media included).
MEDIA REPORT:
rassegna_preliminare_giornata_epatite.pdf
PHOTO GALLERY:
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THE NETHERLANDS:
On 1 October 2007 the kick-off of the pilot of the National Hepatitis C
Campaign has started in two regions in the Netherlands. This campaign
has been developed to inform people on the risks of hepatitis C and to
motivate them to consider testing (the general practitioner plays a
central role in this decision).
The general practitioners in those two regions have received an information kit and were offered extra training.
On 1 October 2007 the press has been informed. Here’s a media report:
Thursday 27 September: interview with a local radio.
Questions asked: What is hepatitis C? What is the aim of the campaign?
What should people do? How many people are infected with hepatitis C?
Monday 1 October:
- news report on local internet sites and local TV.
- a leaflet and poster (see below) have been distributed among
cooperating parties, such as public health organisations and other
public meeting points.
- a number of local newspapers showed interest in the campaign by means of small news items.
Wednesday 3 October: a local weekly newspaper published an editorial article: “Large campaign around hepatitis C has started”.
Thursday 4 October: interview with a local radio.
Questions asked: Why is the pilot being done locally? How is the
campaign conducted? Have you had complaints from hepatitis C patients
in the past? What happens after the pilot?
Tuesday 9 October: interview on local TV news, which was repeated for several days.
MEDIA REPORT:
posterhepatitesc.pdf
folderhepatitescggd.pdf
SPAIN:
AsoEEHC successfully organized an awareness raising walk to the Ministry of Health – people came from all parts of Spain to give their support! The Spanish association also organized an event attended by many liver specialists. The theme was: get tested!
MEDIA REPORT:
Albacete Prensa.pdf
Nota Prensa.pdf
Correo Farmacéutico.pdf
El Ideal Gallego.pdf
UNITED KINGDOM:
The Hepatitis C Trust, together with the government’s Face It campaign organisers held a pilot testing day in Nottingham in partnership with Boots chemists. The project turned out to be a success with many people coming in the shop to get tested! The local media welcomed the initiative and broadcast the event (see some examples below).
MEDIA REPORT:
bbc_east_midlands.pdf
bbc_news_online_east_midlands_01.10.07.pdf
bbc_radio_nottingham.pdf
bjhc_im_01.10.07.pdf
itv_central_east.pdf
nott_eve_post_1.pdf
nott_eve_post_2.pdf
this_is_nottingham_01.10.07.pdf
this_is_nottingham_02.10.07.pdf
trent_fm_01.10.07.pdf