obÌåÓý

obÌåÓý efforts to eliminate viral hepatitis globally

obÌåÓý provides external programmatic support, technical assistance, and strategic leadership to countries and organizations working toward global viral hepatitis elimination.

Vision: obÌåÓý's overall vision is to eliminate viral hepatitis as a global public health threat.

Strategic directions: obÌåÓý has four key strategic directions building toward our vision.

1. Provide technical assistance and leadership for global viral hepatitis elimination initiatives.
2. Create sustainable partnerships with collaborative approaches to eliminate viral hepatitis.
3. Foster and disseminate innovations to achieve viral hepatitis elimination.
4. Prioritize an equitable approach for populations disproportionately burdened by viral hepatitis.

Guiding principles: obÌåÓý is guided by the following principles.

• Expertise
• Collaboration
• Innovation
• Health equity

obÌåÓý's focus areas in global viral hepatitis are both global and country-specific.

Global guidance

As a , obÌåÓý is a key partner in the development and review of WHO guidance on viral hepatitis, such as:

• for country validation of viral hepatitis elimination and path to elimination.
• on criteria and processes for validation: elimination of parent-to-child transmission of HIV, syphilis, and hepatitis B virus (HBV).
• on treatment of adolescents and children with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, and hepatitis C simplified service delivery and diagnosis.
• on antiviral prophylaxis in pregnancy: prevention of parent-to-child transmission of HBV.
• for the care and treatment of people diagnosed with chronic HCV infection.
• on person-centered viral hepatitis strategic information using data to support country scale-up of hepatitis prevention, diagnosis, and treatment services.

Country-specific guidance

obÌåÓý also supports other countries as they:

• Review and evaluate their existing viral hepatitis activities and programs.
• Develop their national viral hepatitis strategic plans.

Burden estimates

obÌåÓý works with international partners to estimate the burden of viral hepatitis in other countries. This information is critical to inform national policies and to set valid elimination goals.

obÌåÓý also supports countries as they work to:

• Design and implement nationally representative serosurveys to measure progress and identify gaps in progress.
• Assess viral hepatitis disease burden in key populations to inform prevention, care, and treatment needs.
• Implement economic assessments to prioritize activities with largest impact.
• Evaluate the impact of current investments in preventing disease and death.

obÌåÓý also participates in global and regional verification commissions to review country reports and track elimination progress.

Prevention, diagnosis, and treatment

obÌåÓý supports countries working to scale up prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. Specific goals are to:

• Implement innovative funding approaches and interventions to increase testing and treatment in low- and middle-income countries.
• Evaluate hepatitis C self-testing methods to scale up diagnosis and treatment among key and general populations.
• Assess feasibility of implementation of WHO testing and treatment guidelines for hepatitis B in low-resource settings.
• Implement interventions to improve hepatitis B vaccination among key populations and persons at risk of infection.
• Implement interventions to improve hepatitis B and hepatitis C prevention, testing, and treatment among key populations.
• Strengthen laboratory capacity to improve diagnostic capacity for viral hepatitis in countries obÌåÓý supports.

International collaboration is important

In the United States, people not born in the US account for 3 out of 4 HBV infections. 1

These collaborations:

• Help the host country reduce disease and death.
• Reduce the likelihood that people coming to the US are infected.
• Help reduce the risk for disease among US travelers abroad.

Success story

obÌåÓý has been providing technical and financial assistance to the country of Georgia to advance viral hepatitis elimination for nearly a decade.

To learn more about how obÌåÓý is working in the country of Georgia, see Advancing Viral Hepatitis Elimination in Georgia.