Jeffrey Lazarus honoured as HCV change maker by the Economist Intelligence Unit

Jeffrey Lazarus, head of ISGlobal’s Health Systems Research Group, has been included on the list of HCV Change Makers for 2017. The list, drawn up by The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), honours 18 individuals and institutions for doing innovative and ground-breaking research that can inspire others along the path towards the elimination of HCV, a disease that affects nearly 71 million people worldwide and causes the death of up to half a million of those infected every year, particularly in Africa and Asia.

Jeffrey Lazarus explains that, for him, “this represents strong recognition of the importance of involving patients in the prevention, treatment and care that they need and deserve.” Lazarus emphasises his commitment to working, as part of ISGlobal, towards the implementation of the roadmap for eliminating HCV, for example by contributing to health policies and by way of research, such as the European study recently published in The Lancet Gastroenterology & Hepatology, of which he is the senior co-author.

That study, which evaluated the restrictions for reimbursement of the cost of direct-acting antiviral drugs for HCV infection, found that the restrictions currently in force in European countries are working against the WHO target of eliminating viral hepatitis as a major threat to public health by 2030.

HCV Change Makers recognises innovative, replicable, scalable and feasible work that has a meaningful impact on HCV elimination in any of the programme’s three thematic areas: multi-stakeholder approaches, screening, and technology. Another objective of the programme is to spark debate and action on HCV policy and access to care for people with hepatitis C.

Jeffrey Lazarus

Prof Jeffrey V. Lazarus is head of the Health Systems Research Group at ISGlobal. Since 2017, he has been a member of The Lancet commission on hepatitis. Throughout his career, his work has been focused on the study of health systems, HIV/AIDS and viral hepatitis, and he has worked with various international organisations, including the WHO and the Global Fund. He is currently a member of numerous international bodies, including AFEW International, the European Commission’s Joint Action on HIV, Hepatitis and TB, EASL International Liver Foundation, and the BioMed Central Editorial Advisory Group. He is the author of more than 200 articles.