The World Hepatitis Alliance and UNITE partner to combat viral hepatitis

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM (September 26, 2019)

The World Hepatitis Alliance (WHA) and UNITE, the global parliamentarians network to end HIV/AIDS, viral hepatitis and other infectious diseases have announced a new partnership at a side meeting held on Sunday 22 September, ahead of the United Nations (UN) High Level Meeting (HLM) on Universal Health Coverage (UHC) along with UNAIDS, WHA and G20 Health Partnership.

The two organisations collaborated with other stakeholders to successfully advocate for the inclusion of viral hepatitis within the UN Political Declaration on UHC which was adopted at the HLM on UHC. The President of Georgia, Salome Zourabichvili also made specific mention of hepatitis in her address to the HLM on UHC, highlighting Georgia’s progress towards the elimination of viral hepatitis.

“UNITE is delighted to be working with the World Hepatitis Alliance” said UNITE Founder and President Dr Ricardo Baptista Leite, MD, MP. “Parliamentarians have an important role to play in hepatitis elimination, by working together with the World Hepatitis Alliance we empower a network of parliamentarians to make a real difference. Our recent success in advocating for the inclusion of viral hepatitis in the Universal Health Coverage Political Declaration is a great start to our partnership.”

World Hepatitis Alliance CEO, Cary James added “This partnership with UNITE will help us to work with policy makers at the highest levels to make a real difference. We will also work to ensure that policy makers and civil society have the tools and knowledge to have an effective relationship. In doing so we can help strengthen health systems and make sure that the patient voice is represented at all levels of health policy development.”

The two organisations have signed a Memorandum of Understanding, confirming their commitment to working together in joint advocacy, awareness-raising, accountability promotion, political will mobilization and political leadership support to achieve the elimination of viral hepatitis by 2030.

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ABOUT UNITE

Created under the Auspicious of UNAIDS, UNITE is a non-profit, non-partisan, global network of current and former policymakers from state, national and regional Parliaments committed towards the elimination of HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis and other infectious diseases as public health threats by 2030.

Since its foundation in 2017, UNITE has already around 100 members and it has representation in 50 countries.
UNITE Network is governed by UNITE’s Global Board which is composed by UNITE’s President and 10 Regional Chairs.

ABOUT THE WORLD HEPATITIS ALLIANCE

Patient-led and patient-driven, the World Hepatitis Alliance (WHA) represents the 325 million people living with viral hepatitis worldwide as well as over 280 member organizations in 91 countries. WHA amplifies patient voices in global health; builds the capacity of our members to advocate and deliver services; increases awareness of viral hepatitis through integrated campaigns; and works with partners to develop and implement comprehensive hepatitis strategies in countries around the world. Through increased screening, accessible treatment, wider awareness, targeted prevention, patient-centered care and support, WHA’s ultimate goal is the elimination of viral hepatitis by 2030. For more information please visit www.worldhepatitisalliance.org