June 2017: Limited media activity during the quarter, given departure of Policy & Engagement Manager at end of May. Some joint media activity with Chinese Australian Services Society, promoting hep B awareness for people born in China.

March 2017: A busy quarter, with significant media activity in both February and March. This included:

• A joint media release and coordinated media with MSD around the release of the Kirby Hep C Treatment newsletter
• Our own media release for the one-year anniversary of the availability of hep C DAAs
• Our own media release for Close the Gap, and
• Significant engagement with Chinese-language in the Sydney metro region in relation to our hep B awareness project.

December 2016: A quiet quarter, with limited news around treatments and/or other public issues (as well as the usual post Hepatitis Awareness Week lull).

September 2016: A busy quarter with 6 separate pro-active media activities in the lead-up to and during NSW Hepatitis Awareness Week (Monday 25 July to Sunday 31 July, including World Hepatitis Day on Thursday 28 July). This included success in generating TV coverage - including statewide (via WIN TV Wollongong) and regional (via Prime 7 Tamworth), as well as print and radio coverage. Overall, the week was a success in promoting the new NSW communications messages - Hep C: Live Hep Free and Hep B: Could it be me?

June 2016: There was only limited media activity during the April-June quarter, surrounding the PBS listing of Viekira Pak on 1 May.

March 2016: Following the PBS announcement in December 2015, the 1st quarter of calendar year 2016 was devoted to the roll-out of the new drugs, including multiple letters to the editor to address mis-information, as well as media releases and other media activities (including supplying media speakers both in Canberra and Sydney) surrounding the launch of the new drugs on 1 March. This included successful media generation on 2 TV networks.

December 2015: The 4th quarter of calendar year 2015 saw a continued focus on the campaign for Equal Treatment Access to new hepatitis C drugs. This included seeking novel approaches to securing media interest, including media releases noting that more people live with hepatitis C in NSW than attended the NRL Grand Final, and releases on the 1st anniversary of US FDA approval of Harvoni, and 2nd anniversary of US FDA approval of Sovaldi. Fortunately, the final media release of the year celebrated the news the community had been waiting for - the announcement that Sovaldi, Harvoni and Daklinza would be listed from 1 March 2016. December 2015 also saw publication of an article in Croakey's Just Justice series looking at the role the over-representation of Aboriginal people in custody plays in the higher relative rates of hepatitis C among this community.

September 2015: The 3rd quarter of calendar year 2015 was particularly busy. As usual, NSW Hepatitis Awareness Week (27 July to 2 August) involved a number of media releases and other pro-active media approaches. August also saw an additional positive recommendation from the PBAC to list new hepatitis C drugs (in this case Viekira Pak) as well as the release of the NSW Hepatitis B and C Strategies Implementation Data Report, with Hepatitis NSW issuing multiple releases in response to this (including specific releases for regional NSW, and suburban Sydney). In September, the Kirby Annual Surveillance Report was released, confirming 690 deaths from hepatitis C related liver disease in 2014 alone, which was the focus of a media release calling for the approval of new drugs.

June 2015: The 2nd quarter of the calendar year is generally quieter, especially in the period in the lead-up to Hepatitis Awareness Week (27 July to 2 August 2015). Media releases during this period included a response to the PBAC recommendations in favour of sofosbuvir, sofosbuvir+ledipasvir and sofosbuvir+daclatasvir in April, as well as seeking media intervention around treatment tourism coverage in the Sunday Telegraph in June.

March 2015: 1st quarter of calendar year 2015 included media activities around the Commonwealth Parliamentary Committee Inquiry into Hepatitis C, the March 2015 PBAC meeting (at which four new drugs were considered), and the NSW State Election (in which Hepatitis NSW welcomed a commitment from the Liberal-National Parties to provide free access to Highly Specialised Drugs).

Previous: Hepatitis Awareness Week occurred July 28 to August 3 2014. This is the peak time for pro-active media activities, with multiple media releases. September activities also included media release welcoming release of NSW Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C Strategies. October onward included media activities seeking Equal Treatment Access (ETA) to new hepatitis C drugs, with a Media Release in December welcoming the PBS listing of simeprevir.

Hepatitis NSW has become more targeted in which issues or events we distribute our own media release, versus those for which we will instead promote the media releases from Hepatitis Australia - for example, during June we promoted the Hepatitis Australia media release responding to the 'Silent Disease' report of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Inquiry into Hepatitis C, and their release about the introduction of hepatitis B medicine dispensing from community pharmacies. During NSW Hepatitis Awareness Week, Hepatitis NSW also partners with organisations which receive community awareness grants, to raise the profile of viral hepatitis in media which services priority populations - in 2015, this was particularly successful with the Chinese Australian Services Society in targeting Chinese language media.

During Hepatitis Awareness Week 2014 multicultural/CALD media activities worked better than general media releases. In 2015, and especially in response to the NSW Hepatitis B and C Strategies Implementation Data Report, releases which provide local information or context have been successful. Consistently, stories which use personal narratives, including those of Cme community advocates, have been effective in attracting media coverage.

From 30 September 2015, the primary focus on campaign, both in media and in advocacy, is on #TimeforAction - Time for New Cures, to finally secure PBS listing for the four interferon-free durgs/combinations which have been recommended by the PBAC for the treatment of hepatitis C.