Gilead awards $4 million globally (excluding the US)

The fund is intended to support hepatitis B (HBV), hepatitis C (HCV) and hepatitis D (HDV). The official announcement was made at the symposium “Partnering for Global Health Equity: Case Studies from Around the World” held during the Hepatitis Summit (“the Summit”) in Lisbon.

Among the 71 organizations receiving the 2023 Fund, two non-profit organizations from Vietnam were honored, including the Institute of Hepatobiliary Gastroenterology and Research and the Vietnam Hepatitis Alliance. These two organizations were selected through an independent external review by global experts, including the World Hepatitis Alliance ("WHA").

This collaboration expands the longstanding partnership between WHA and Gilead to advance the Foundation's commitment to supporting community-led efforts and accelerating efforts to eliminate viral hepatitis.

The grant from the Foundation will enable the two organizations to implement innovative projects to raise awareness, promote testing, improve linkages to health care, and promote viral hepatitis awareness in public health policy.

The Vietnam Hepatitis Alliance, a non-profit organization, will use the funding to implement the DETECT-B program.

The initiative aims to deploy an evidence-based and scalable intervention to promote HBV testing, linkage to care and treatment in primary care settings and will be piloted in Ho Chi Minh City.

Gilead awards $4 million prize globally (excluding US) - 1

Another grantee is the Institute of Gastroenterology and Hepatobiliary Research and Training, which plans to address the lack of a digital platform to provide accurate and reliable information that is easily accessible to the public and HBV patients.

The Institute will develop an HBV patient care application, in collaboration with Vietnamese liver health professionals, to better support care linkage and adherence.

Features include providing an educational package with accessible information on patient lab tests, prescriptions and recommended dosages, tracking key health indicators and providing appropriate recommendations, and enabling direct communication with a physician to enhance health awareness based on individual health inputs.

“As the World Health Organization’s goal of eliminating viral hepatitis as a public health threat by 2030 approaches, the need for a multi-stakeholder approach is more urgent than ever. Hepatitis remains a major public health burden in the region and a concerted effort from different sectors is needed.

With the ALL4LIVER Fund, we are proud to work more closely with community partners and academic institutions, nurturing innovative solutions specifically designed to address local challenges.

Together, we envision a future where the burden of hepatitis will be a thing of the past, and healthcare will truly be accessible to everyone,” said Deepshikha Kiyawat, General Manager, Gilead Global Patient Solutions, Southeast Asia and Central Asia.

Notably, this is the second round of Gilead’s ALL4LIVER Fund in Asia. Since 2021, the Fund has supported campaigns led by local community organizations in Hong Kong to promote testing, share knowledge about viral hepatitis, and raise awareness of the disease.

Recipients of the 2023 Fund include regions in Africa, South America, Asia, Oceania, Europe and North America.

$4 million in funding will be committed to innovative community-supported projects that address unmet needs related to HBV, HCV and HDV by addressing stigma and discrimination, and supporting efforts to achieve the goal of eliminating viral hepatitis as a public health problem.

For more information about the Gilead ALL4LIVER Fund and past Fund recipients, please visit https://www.gileadall4liver.com/.

Nhat Le

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