English: Diolch yn fawr, Dirprwy Llywydd. Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to provide an update on what we're doing in Wales to help reach the World Health Organization's target to eliminate hepatitis C as a significant public health threat by 2030. The World Health Organization target is a 90 per cent reduction in incidence, and a 65 per cent reduction in mortality due to hepatitis C by 2030. We in Wales are pleased to have signed up to this target; obviously, if we can go faster, we will. You might have noticed that there's quite a lot going on in the NHS at a moment, but we are not weakening the target that we've already set out. Thanks to medical advances, new directly acting antiviral medications have revolutionised the treatment of hepatitis C, so that the disease is now, to all intents and purposes, curable in the early stages. Treatments are well tolerated and of relatively short duration. This paradigm shift in treatment provides an opportunity to significantly reduce the incidence and prevalence of hepatitis C in all communities in Wales. Of course, during the COVID-19 pandemic, difficult decisions have had to be taken to prioritise our health protection expertise and resources. As a result, work on important areas, including hepatitis C testing, were paused temporarily. But we remain committed to working towards the World Health Organization target and to improving lives in Wales. Our focus for the elimination of hepatitis C is on ensuring that health boards have robust, cohesive plans in place to be able to find and treat people with hepatitis C through existing harm-reduction services. And to do this, we will need to focus on individuals who may be unaware that they have the disease, as has been pointed out, or, until now, have been unwilling to engage with traditional health services. We've previously worked with health boards to set out the route-map to elimination of hepatitis C, and we have nationally funded posts to support this.
Welsh: Diolch yn fawr, Ddirprwy Lywydd. Diolch am y cyfle i roi'r wybodaeth ddiweddaraf am yr hyn a wnawn yng Nghymru i helpu i gyrraedd targed Sefydliad Iechyd y Byd i ddileu hepatitis C fel bygythiad sylweddol i iechyd y cyhoedd erbyn 2030. Targed Sefydliad Iechyd y Byd yw gostyngiad o 90 y cant yn nifer yr achosion, a gostyngiad o 65 y cant yn y nifer sy'n marw o hepatitis C erbyn 2030. Rydym ni yng Nghymru yn falch o fod wedi ymrwymo i'r targed hwn; yn amlwg, os gallwn fynd yn gyflymach, byddwn yn gwneud hynny. Efallai eich bod wedi sylwi bod cryn dipyn yn digwydd yn y GIG ar hyn o bryd, ond nid ydym yn addasu'r targed a osodwyd gennym eisoes. Diolch i ddatblygiadau meddygol, mae meddyginiaethau gwrthfeirol newydd sy'n gweithredu'n uniongyrchol wedi chwyldroi'r broses o drin hepatitis C, fel bod modd gwella'r clefyd i bob pwrpas yn y camau cynnar bellach. Mae triniaethau'n effeithiol ac yn para am gyfnod cymharol fyr. Mae'r newid sylfaenol hwn yn y driniaeth yn rhoi cyfle i leihau nifer yr achosion o hepatitis C yn sylweddol ym mhob cymuned yng Nghymru. Wrth gwrs, yn ystod pandemig COVID-19, bu'n rhaid gwneud penderfyniadau anodd i flaenoriaethu ein hadnoddau a'n harbenigedd mewn perthynas â diogelu iechyd. O ganlyniad, cafodd gwaith ar feysydd pwysig, gan gynnwys profion hepatitis C, ei ohirio dros dro. Ond rydym yn parhau'n ymrwymedig i weithio tuag at darged Sefydliad Iechyd y Byd ac i wella bywydau yng Nghymru. Mae ein ffocws ar gyfer dileu hepatitis C ar sicrhau bod gan fyrddau iechyd gynlluniau cadarn, cydlynus ar waith i allu canfod a thrin pobl sydd â hepatitis C drwy'r gwasanaethau lleihau niwed presennol, ac i wneud hyn, bydd angen inni ganolbwyntio ar unigolion nad ydynt yn gwybod bod y clefyd arnynt o bosibl, fel y nodwyd, neu sydd wedi bod yn amharod hyd yma i ymgysylltu â gwasanaethau iechyd traddodiadol. Rydym wedi gweithio gyda byrddau iechyd yn y gorffennol i nodi'r llwybr ar gyfer dileu hepatitis C, ac mae gennym swyddi a ariennir yn genedlaethol i gefnogi hyn.