Dr. Marie Beata Murekatete has new hope for her hepatitis C patients due to direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) that cure most people with chronic hepatitis C infection. DAA treatments have been available in Rwanda since 2016, and now the country will scale-up treatment nationwide as it works to eliminate hepatitis C by 2024. Dr. Murekatete says she used to lose a patient a week due to hepatitis C. “It was like watching a child die, because you have no food to give her,” says Murekatete. “Now we rejoice because our patients live!” Murekatete works at the Bushenge hospital in Western Province, about 250 kms from Kigali. This photo was taken in Kigali. May 2019.

Aimee Vivine Uwimana suffered with symptoms of Hepatitis C for a long time before she was diagnosed in 2013. She had fatigue, headaches and shortness of breath. Doctors thought she was tired from her work. Eventually, she was diagnosed with Hepatitis C and went through months of painful, expensive, and ultimately ineffective interferon-based injections. “The side effects were so bad my doctor wanted to end the treatment. But I knew that if he did, I would die.” Despite spending thousands on the treatment and almost bankrupting the family, it didn’t work, and Aimee’s health declined further. Finally in 2016, Aimee was able to start a promising new direct-acting antiviral (DAA). She was completely cured within three months. “After the doctor told me I was fine, I was so happy. I can’t explain the joy I felt.” Rwanda will use DAAs to treat everyone diagnosed with chronic Hepatitis C infection, in a nationwide drive to eliminate HCV by 2024. Kigali, May 2019

The woman who cares for the Gautampuri Maternal and Child Health Centre stands in front of the accredited social health activisists, or ASHAs who report to the centre. Delhi, August 2019.

Dr. Ganesh Shah, a pediatriacian at Patan Hospitali in Lalitpur, Nepal. The hospital now rarely admits children with measles as the disease is nearing elimination in Nepal. Lalitpur, Nepal. August 2019

Professor Dr. Yong Poovarawan is a leading Thai virologist. His research led to a refinement of the hepatitis B vaccination schedule and included breakthrough long-term studies of vaccine efficacy for the same people over the course of twenty years. He also led research that demonstrated a sharp decline in hepatitis B infection amongst those who had been immunized. This kind of research contributed to Thailand controlling hepatitis B nationally. Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand. August 2019.

Laurent Gahiza is a retired truck driver. He’d been sick for some years with liver problems and was told to eat more carefully. He consulted a traditional medicine practitioner - a common practice - and said the treatment he prescribed didn’t work either. More recently, Mr. Gahiza was diagnosed with Hepatitis C, and given direct-acting antivirals (DAAs). He took one pill a day and after a few months, was completely cured. “Normally other oral medications would affect me a lot,” he recalls. “But this one was normal. It was like eating food. I didn’t feel anything at all.” Today Mr. Gahiza feels well. He says Rwandans should definitely come out and be screened. “The drugs are available! Follow your doctor’s orders, and you will definitely be cured!” Rwamagana, Rwanda. June 2019