HRSA FUNDS NEW HEPATITIS C AND HIV COINFECTION INITIATIVE

December 19, 2016 • By Corinna Dan, R.N., M.P.H., Viral Hepatitis Policy Advisor, Office of HIV/AIDS and Infectious Disease Policy, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Cross-posted from HHS Blog

Summary: HRSA’s HIV/AIDS Bureau has awarded a new initiative to improve hepatitis C virus (HCV) services among HIV/HCV coinfected people of color, funded under the FY 2016 Secretary’s Minority AIDS Initiative Fund.

HRSA’s HIV/AIDS Bureau has awarded a new initiative to improve hepatitis C virus (HCV) services among HIV/HCV coinfected people of color, funded under the FY 2016 Secretary’s Minority AIDS Initiative Fund.

The initiative is called the “Jurisdictional Approach to Curing Hepatitis C among HIV/HCV Coinfected People of Color” and will focus on development of new HCV/HIV screening, care and treatment approaches. The initiative is comprised of three, separately-funded components: three jurisdictional Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program (RWHAP) recipient jurisdictions that will implement HCV/HIV projects; a State Health Departments Coordinating Center; and an Evaluation and Technical Assistance Center (ETAC).

The ETAC will provide technical assistance and capacity building support, multi-site evaluation, and coordination of publication and dissemination of best practices, lessons learned and other findings from the initiative. The RAND Corporation will serve as the ETAC.
Three jurisdictions were funded: Hartford, CT; New York City, NY; and Philadelphia, PA. Each will focus on increasing jurisdiction-level capacity to provide comprehensive screening, care and treatment of HCV among HIV/HCV coinfected people of color and increasing numbers of HIV/HCV coinfected people of color who are diagnosed, treated, and cured of HCV infection.
The National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors (NASTAD) will provide support to these sites as the State Health Departments Coordinating Center.

For more information about the initiative, please contact HRSA’s Michael Evanson.

This HCV/HIV Jurisdictional Initiative is just one of the most recent HRSA HIV/AIDS Bureau efforts to improve service delivery to HCV/HIV coinfected persons. HRSA has developed multiple HCV/HIV clinical care best practices guides over the past 15 years and, more recently funded a Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program (RWHAP) Special Projects of National Significance (SPNS) Hepatitis C Treatment Expansion Initiative.

Cross-posted from TARGET Center: Tools for the Ryan White Community