In This Issue

Today is World Hepatitis Day. To mark both it and National African American Hepatitis C Action Day, which took place over the weekend, this issue is devoted entirely to ending the epidemic of the hepatitis C virus (HCV).

We open with a story that identifies four different reasons why it's important that African Americans be tested for HCV, one of the most important of which is that there is now a cure—one that works well in Black people. Read on.

As we experience all too often, though, accessing the care and treatments we need and deserve can be complicated. For instance, by now you may be aware that the cost of the HCV cure is astronomical. With the price tag for the roughly 12-week treatment approaching $100,000, the cure remains out of reach for many Americans. But if you've tested positive for hepatitis C, don't give up: Here, we provide a number of resources to help you access the care you deserve.

David Njabulo Whiter is a 56-year-old African American man who participated in a clinical trial for Solvadi and went from thinking he was going to die to being cured of HCV. "After only one week of treatment, my viral load—the amount of hepatitis in my blood—went from more than 6 million to less than 100," he says. Read on to learn more about David's story.

At last month's 2015 National Summit on HCV and HIV Diagnosis, Prevention and Access to Care, one of our friends at HHS, Dr. Ronald Valdiserri, held a conversation with Dr. John Ward, director of CDC's Division of Viral Hepatitis, about who should get tested, the testing process, and the elimination of hepatitis C. We share it.

Finally a new study out of Boston suggests that new cases of hep C are dramatically underreported to federal officials, with only one out of 183 Massachusetts residents diagnosed between 2001 and 2011 with acute HCV reported to the CDC.

Finally, at 10 a.m. on this Thursday, July 30, the White House will release the National HIV/AIDS Strategy: Updated to 2020, in Atlanta. I invite you to watch and share this short video, then mark your calendars to watch the live stream on AIDS.gov on Thursday morning.

Yours in the struggle,

Phill