Research Programmes
Research

VH-COMSAVAC

Viral Hepatitis COMmunity Screening, Vaccination, and Care

Duration
01/11/2022 - 31/10/2024
Coordinator
Jeffrey Lazarus
Funded by
EU4H European Commission

In 2016, the World Health Organization (WHO) published a global strategy with the goal to eliminate viral hepatitis as a major public health threat by 2030 and set targets to reduce viral hepatitis cases by 90% and hepatitis-related deaths by 65%. The strategy also called for health systems to improve outreach and testing, such that 90% of those unaware of their status are diagnosed and, of these, 80% of people living with HBV and HCV be on treatment by 2030.

Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan was updated in 2021 and sets out specific objectives to reduce cancer-related morbidity and mortality across Europe. The objective to prevent cancers caused by HBV and HCV infections is included in this renewed Plan.

The objective of this project is to scale-up and adapt community-based viral hepatitis (HBV and HCV) testing and HBV vaccination models of care among migrant and refugee populations with documented high HBV and HCV incidence and prevalence using simplified diagnostic tools and person-centred referral processes to reduce liver cancer-associated mortality. This project will be carried out in Italy, Greece, and Spain and is coordinated by ISGlobal. 

The project will have a 2-year duration and includes partners in Spain (Salud Entre Culturas), Italy (the Fondazione IRCCS Ca’ Granada Ospedale Maggiore Policlino, Milan; Hospital San Raffaele, and Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan), and Greece (Prometheus; Athens).

External Advisory Board Members 

Associated Partners 

Total funding 

€1 million 

Our Team

Coordinator

  • Jeffrey Lazarus
    Jeffrey Lazarus Associate Research Professor and Co-director of the Viral and Bacterial Infections Programme

ISGlobal team

Other projects

See Past Projects

COMBACTE

Combating Bacterial Resistance In Europe

COMBACTE-CARE

Combatting Bacterial Resistance in Europe - Carbapenem Resistance

Xpatial-TB

Improved case detection through TB contact risk stratification by Xpert results and spatial parameters in Mozambique

WHIP3TB

Evaluation of the effect of weekly high dose rifapentine and isoniazid (3HP) vs periodic 3HP vs 6H for preventing TB among HIV-positive individuals

VINCI

Optimizing provider-initiated HIV testing, linkage, and retention in care in the district of Manhiça, Mozambique

INTE-AFRICA

Integrating and decentralizing diabetes and hypertension services in Africa

AVATAR

Searching the hidden: evaluating dengue, chikungunya and Zika autochthonous transmission in the city of Barcelona.

COVID-PREG

Eficacia de hidroxicloroquina en la prevención de la infección por SARS-CoV-2 y de la gravedad de la enfermedad de COVID-19 durante el embarazo

AMR DetecTool

A breakthrough device for the rapid detection of antimicrobial resistance

ANTICOV

Large Clinical Trial in Africa on the Treatment of Mild Cases of COVID-19

HBV-COMSAVA

Hepatitis B Virus COMmunity Screening and Vaccination in Africans

Stool4TB

Evaluating a new stool based qPCR for diagnosis of tuberculosis in children and people living with HIV

Hep C Free Baleares

Eliminating hepatitis C on the Balearic Islands (Mallorca, Menorca and Ibiza): a study in governmental and non-governmental addiction service centres, a mobile methadone unit and a prison to test and link people who use drugs to HCV care.

CAPTB

Close the Gap, Increase Access, Provide Adequate Therapy

STREESCO

Strengthening Epidemiological Surveillance in Benin and Burkina Faso for an Effective Response to COVID-19

COVAIR-CAT

Air Pollution in Relation to COVID-19 Morbidity and Mortality: A Large Population-Based Cohort Study in Catalonia

TB-RECONNECT

Reconnecting Transmission to Global Tuberculosis Control by Mapping Pathogen Transmission Events to Host Infection Status

SToolNIH

Quantifiable stool-based TB PCR to Improve Diagnostics and Treatment Monitoring

ALIA

Las ciudades y la salud

END-VOC

ENDing COVID-19 Variants Of concern through Cohort studies (END-VOC)

ENDÈMIC

Community knowledge generation through scientific culture, urban ecology and art