Ontario is charting the path to eliminate hepatitis C by 2030

The Ontario Hepatitis C Elimination Roadmap is guiding policy and practice action to end hepatitis C as a public health threat by 2030. This is a collaborative, multi-sector initiative led by hepatitis C experts and with contributions from government, clinicians, community and more. Hepatitis C is among the most burdensome infectious diseases in Ontario. However, an effective cure, widespread testing and proven prevention strategies mean elimination is within reach.

The Ontario Hepatitis C Elimination Roadmap was launched in 2023. The Ontario Roadmap outlines how Ontario can take action to increase the number of people tested for and diagnosed with hepatitis C, expand treatment options for easier access, and advance prevention strategies, including among those at highest risk.

See the report page for the full Roadmap, a simplified web version and supporting fact sheets.

An estimated 110,000 people are living with hepatitis C in Ontario

44% of people living with hepatitis C are unaware that they have the disease

A highly effective cure is publicly covered for almost all Ontarians


Who are we?

As part of a national process by the Canadian Network on Hepatitis C, the Ontario Roadmap work is being led by a collective of clinical and community leaders from Ontario’s hepatitis C sector. Together, we bring front-line and system-level expertise in hepatitis C prevention, testing and treatment. We are working closely with an advisory committee that includes representation of people with lived experience, priority population groups, researchers, healthcare workers, policy-makers, community workers and more.


From a national blueprint to an Ontario Roadmap

Canada has committed to achieving World Health Organization targets for eliminating hepatitis C as a public health threat by 2030. In 2019, the Canadian Network on Hepatitis C took the first step by creating a national Blueprint to Inform Hepatitis C Elimination Efforts in Canada. This set out bold targets to eliminate hepatitis C.

By 2030, Canada aims to:

Reduce new infections by 80%

Diagnose 90% of people living with hepatitis C

Begin treatment for 80% of people living with hepatitis C

To meet these targets, the national blueprint outlines several evidence-informed recommendations to improve prevention, testing and treatment, as well as ways to track our progress. It adopts a priority population lens, focusing on those most at risk for hepatitis C:

people who use drugs
First Nations, Inuit and Métis
people with experience in the prison system
immigrants and newcomers from countries where hepatitis C is common
gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men

The Canadian Network on Hepatitis C is supporting provinces and territories across Canada to take these recommendations and plan the path forward toward elimination in each region.


We’re building Ontario’s Roadmap with your help

Action on hepatitis C elimination will take commitment from partners across the cascade of hepatitis C care. We’re working with a full range of individuals and organizations touched by hepatitis C, including people with lived experience, priority population groups, researchers, healthcare workers, policy-makers and community workers. We’ve assembled a multi-sector advisory committee with the expertise, influence and perspectives to chart a path forward toward elimination.


Our team and advisory committee

The Ontario Roadmap team is led by co-chairs Dr. Jordan Feld, clinician scientist at the Toronto Centre for Liver Disease, and Jason Altenberg, CEO of South Riverdale Community Health Centre. CATIE, the Health Commons Solutions Lab and the Canadian Network on Hepatitis C provide planning support.

A multi-stakeholder advisory committee contributed to the development of the Ontario Hepatitis C Elimination Roadmap. They reflect a diverse set of professions, communities and voices from across the province. Represented organizations include:

Action Hepatitis Canada
Alliance for Healthier Communities
Association of Family Health Teams of Ontario
Canadian Association of Hepatology Nurses
Canadian Association of People Who Use Drugs
CATIE
Crossroads Refugee Health Clinic (Women’s College Hospital)
Elevate NWO
HIV Legal Network
Indigenous Primary Health Care Council
Métis Nation of Ontario
Niagara Health Hepatitis C Care Clinic
Nurse Practitioner Association of Ontario
PASAN
Oahas
Ontario Hepatitis C Teams Network
Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada
Sanguen Health Centre
Southwest Ontario Aboriginal Health Access Centre
South Riverdale Community Health Centre
Toronto Centre for Liver Disease (University Health Network)
Toronto Community Hepatitis C Program
Ontario Ministry of Health (ex-officio)
Public Health Ontario (ex-officio)
Public Health Agency of Canada (ex-officio)