- We celebrated the 10th anniversary of the Update of Hepatology Course, our core annual event, and the community that we’ve built around it. The topic was Addressing the latest hepatology challenges with clinical perspectives, mixing contemporary scientific advancements with good clinical practice’ standards in hepatology; 6 plenary sessions, 2 extraordinary state-of-the-art lectures, 15 international & 24 national speakers, that regaled our participants over 3 days
- As education represented the core primary activity for RoALD. we continued to develop the hepatology program as part of several national events, including the National Congress of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Digestive endoscopy, held in Iasi in June 2023; we organized the pre-Congress hepatology course and 6 sessions devoted to liver diseases, according to the needs of general hepatology practice and advancements in the field
- Endorsed several meetings such as Trends and Perspectives in Gastroenterology, GastroCentrix in order to standardize and harmonize clinical care in patients with liver diseases
- Collaborated with SRGH and other scientific societies (National Society of Family Medicine, Diabetes societies) on issues impacting our patients’ care (advocacy for new treatments and improving access to therapy, multidisciplinary care, rising awareness of metabolic liver disease, improving clinical services and funding for patients with liver diseases)
- Continued our partnership with the Romanian Association of Patients with Liver Diseases (APAH) for awareness-raising and screening projects
- On the World Liver Health Day (19th April), NASH Day (8th June) and World Hepatitis Day (28th July), we organized manifestations raising public awareness of liver diseases and their management
- Tightened ties with other specialties in order to improve approaches to multidisciplinary care
- We are thrilled to announce the remarkable success of our project LIVERO2SUD, which stands for "Regional Program for Prevention, Screening, and Diagnosis of Patients with Chronic Hepatic Diseases Secondary to Viral Infections with Hepatitis B/D and C Viruses." Under contract number POCU/755/4/9/136208, the LIVERO-2SUD project has achieved outstanding results that will be published soon.
Overall, the success of the LIVERO-2SUD project underscores the effectiveness of concerted efforts involving healthcare professionals, patient associations, NGOs, civil society, media, and political decision-makers in raising awareness, conducting screening, and improving access to treatment.
Moving forward, the focus will be on vulnerable populations such as PWID, incarcerated individuals, uninsured, and hard-to-reach people. Screening initiatives must be expanded and institutionalized nationally, with the establishment of a real Viral Hepatitis Registry (SEES was one of the major achievements of our Project) in Romania being imperative for reporting and treatment monitoring. Urgent measures are required to address comorbidities such as metabolic disorders, emphasizing lifestyle modifications and alcohol consumption reduction. Updating the National Viral Hepatitis Control Plan with these data is essential, as it brings Romania closer to the realization of eliminating viral hepatitis.
In conclusion, with all the essential ingredients in place, the elimination of viral hepatitis in Romania is within reach.
