More than 400 delegates from 46 countries attended a Global Hepatitis Summit in Los Angeles last month, where attendees discussed the need for greater investment in hepatitis research and delivery of care, among other timely topics.
Hepatitis B (HBV) claims more than a million lives annually and affects more than 300 million individuals, 90% of whom are unaware because of its asymptomatic nature. If left untreated, people who are infected can develop severe infections, liver cancer and failure.
The Task Force’s Coalition for Global Hepatitis Elimination (CGHE) helped organize the event, which promotes collaboration and innovation among the world’s leading disease experts. We spoke with CGHE Director John Ward about the summit and CGHE, which collaborates with more than 350 global partners across 60 countries to support strong hepatitis programs at all levels.
This summit brought together leaders in research, clinical care and public health workers. What were the biggest takeaways for these key players working to detect and eliminate hepatitis?
64 speakers presented on urgent topics ranging from the most advanced science in the search for a cure to hepatitis B to delivery strategies to overcome disparities in viral hepatitis. Cross-cutting themes included the need for greater investment in hepatitis research and delivery of care, especially for those who are living with a high risk for infection and limited access to services.
Access to hepatitis treatment is limited, with less than 2% of eligible individuals receiving medication that could cure them. At the event, CGHE launched the Center for Operational Research on Hepatitis B (COR-HEPB) to improve access to care. How does it work, and how much of a difference will it make?
COR-HEPB represents the first global center dedicated to catalyzing investments and coordinating research that will expand access to hepatitis B care and treatments in low- and middle-income countries. We will be able to invest in research to uncover the most effective ways of simplifying treatment for hepatitis B and making it more accessible for the millions of people who need care. And we will be able to coordinate the information to ensure it reaches policymakers and informs best practices across countries that are seeking to improve care. Ultimately, we hope to further the mission of COR-HEPB by attracting more funding and resources to hepatitis B operational research, in order to help as many people as possible.
A core part of CGHE’s mission is protecting newborns from HBV and liver disease. Why is it especially important to protect newborns, and how is CGHE working to improve birth dose vaccinations around the world?
Most areas of the world are progressing towards hepatitis elimination by improving coverage of infant hepatitis B vaccination, beginning with a timely hepatitis B birth dose vaccine in the first 24 hours of life. It’s essential to vaccinate newborns within the first 24 hours of birth, because that is the timing that has proven most effective for preventing chronic, lifelong infection that can lead to deadly liver disease and liver cancer. However, only about 1 in 5 African infants received a birth dose in 2022.
CGHE works to improve this shortcoming by partnering directly with civil society organizations who are working on the ground to promote birth dose policies with their local and national ministries of health. These groups also engage in advocacy campaigns to increase community awareness using local languages, music, radio programs, and social media to encourage demand and uptake for hepatitis B birth dose vaccination. We love seeing how these relatively small investments can lead to capacity building and real policy change in the places where our partnerships are active.
What are your predictions for the next decade and beyond, and how will these developments impact individuals in affected nations?
In the past ten years, we have seen remarkable progress and enthusiasm for hepatitis elimination, like the development of a widely available cure for hepatitis C in the form of a once-daily pill, and the World Health Organization’s call for hepatitis elimination by 2030. Now, more than one in every four member states in the U.N. has joined the U.N. Group of Friends to Eliminate Hepatitis, an initiative CGHE established to increase health diplomacy, as well as national and international commitments, to achieve WHO targets of hepatitis elimination by 2030. In the next decade, the momentum will continue to be in our favor. As science enables us to find a cure for hepatitis B, and to diagnose and support patients more efficiently, increased political commitment will bring us closer to a world free of viral hepatitis. But we really already have the tools in hand. We just need increased investment and commitment for the world to come together and wipe out this disease.
Hepatitis is one of the most pressing global public health threats, but it is also underfunded and underappreciated. You have been pursuing hepatitis elimination efforts for more than three decades. What challenges come with combating this disease, and how do you stay motivated to continue your work despite these hurdles?
One of the biggest challenges in hepatitis elimination is the lack of awareness around Hepatitis B virus ( HBV) and Hepatitis C virus (HCV). This lack of awareness exists at all levels, from individuals all the way up to, at times, government officials, resulting in a lack of programs with strategies to prevent, detect, treat and cure hepatitis.
There are at least four realities that drive my passion to overcome these challenges. First, the opportunity to eliminate a disease is rare in medicine. With safe and effective vaccines, reliable tests and effective and curative treatments, hepatitis elimination is possible. Secondly, the payoff in improved health is immense. In reaching global goals for hepatitis elimination, we can avert more than seven million premature deaths from liver disease and liver cancer. Thirdly, model countries, with national commitments to hepatitis elimination, demonstrate how hepatitis vaccination, testing and care are affordable and readily delivered by existing health systems. Lastly, I am inspired by the drive of health officials, clinicians and community members who step up as local champions, finding innovative ways of expanding hepatitis prevention and care services for their communities, often with modest resources.
The changes in financial support for global health pose new challenges for hepatitis elimination. However, with a toolkit of simple, effective interventions that can be delivered through routine health care, the Coalition will help countries sustain and grow the prevention and care services needed to reach goals for hepatitis elimination. In summary, can we eliminate hepatitis? YES WE CAN!
