Community Involvement in Hepatitis C Treatment Guidelines in Indonesia

Claudius Mone Iye

Issue

The invention of direct acting antiviral (DAA) had shifted the whole Hepatitis C (HCV) treatment in a new direction toward curing HCV compared to interferon based with 50% vs 95% in favor of DAA. The need for an updated guideline therefore is crucial to shift the way people are treated for HCV in Indonesia.

Setting

Besides people in general population, the target population of the provision of HCV guidelines are also be for people who are most at risk such as people who use drugs. The availability of the guidelines is to be used at the national level across Indonesia.

Project Description

The drug user network had been involved in the beginning of HCV treatment to bridge between the government and the community. However, the involvement had not been in terms of providing technical and expert input in the guidelines. PWID were always questioned about our adherence and the risk of reinfection, while other problem such as side effects and drug-drug interaction are less discussed among the experts. As people who experience the side effects and drug interaction, PWID community becomes an expert in equipping ourselves with knowledge. In several meeting, we were able to provide significant input to the expert panel of HCV in Indonesia.

Outcomes

In early 2017 we have the first HCV treatment guidelines with community as part of panel of contributor in the guidelines. The guidelines had been printed and also disseminated by the community of PWID in Indonesia. As a result, 2138 people had been on treatment using DAA since the mid of 2017 to mid of 2018. As community, be knowledgeable and be able to confidently provide input to the government guidelines should be part of the empowerment effort all over the world.