New Alliance Targets Hepatitis B With Grassroots Power and Global Tech

SAN FRANCISCO, April 28, 2026 – A new strategic alliance is mobilizing to confront a stark reality: the world is losing ground in the race to eliminate hepatitis B. Grassroots coalition Hep B Free and the Coalition for Global Hepatitis Elimination (CGHE) have announced a landmark partnership, aiming to scale a proven community-based advocacy model to a global stage, backed by a powerful new digital platform.

The collaboration arrives at a critical juncture. Despite global commitments, progress toward the World Health Organization's (WHO) 2030 elimination targets is dangerously slow. This new initiative seeks to shatter long-standing silos by integrating local, on-the-ground action with high-level data analysis and policy expertise, creating a unified front against a virus that continues to claim hundreds of thousands of lives each year.

A Race Against a Silent Epidemic

The urgency behind this partnership is rooted in alarming global health statistics. The WHO's 2030 goals—a 90% reduction in new infections and a 65% reduction in mortality—are slipping out of reach. While new infections have decreased since 2015, the pace is insufficient. More troublingly, deaths from hepatitis B have actually increased by 17% in the same period, with the virus causing an estimated 1.34 million deaths in 2024 alongside its counterpart, hepatitis C.

The core of the problem lies in a massive gap in diagnosis and care. Hepatitis B is often a silent infection, showing no symptoms for years or decades until severe liver damage, cirrhosis, or cancer develops. As a result, a staggering 90% of the 287 million people living with chronic hepatitis B are unaware of their infection. Globally, only 27% of people with the virus have been diagnosed, and fewer than 5% are receiving the treatment that could save their lives. This disparity is particularly acute in low- and middle-income countries, especially in Africa and Asia, where health systems are strained and access to care is limited.

Prevention efforts also face significant hurdles. While a safe and effective vaccine exists, global coverage of the critical birth dose—which prevents mother-to-child transmission—remains dangerously low, particularly in the WHO African Region, where only 17% of newborns received it in 2024.

Forging a New Path: Grassroots Meets Global Policy

The partnership between Hep B Free and CGHE is designed to tackle these challenges by combining two complementary spheres of influence. For over two decades, Hep B Free has cultivated a successful grassroots model within communities, building coalitions focused on awareness, screening, and linking people to care. Their work embodies the principle that health system change begins with empowered communities.

"Without change, we will fail to meet U.S. and WHO 2030 elimination goals," said Richard So of Hep B Free in a statement. "Health system and policy change depends on building strong community coalitions that compel those in power to act."

This on-the-ground expertise will now be amplified by the global reach of CGHE, a program of The Task Force for Global Health. CGHE brings world-class proficiency in research, data analysis, and policy guidance, providing the technical backbone needed to scale local successes into national and international strategies.

"This partnership represents an important step forward in strengthening how we support hepatitis B elimination efforts," said John Ward, Director of CGHE. "By more fully integrating grassroots coalition-building with data, policy, and technical expertise, we can enhance both the reach and sustainability of advocacy efforts across the U.S. and globally."

The Digital Engine for Change: HepBNow

Central to this scaling strategy is HepBNow, a new digital Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform developed in collaboration with technology partners CollabHealth and Interdiagnostic. This platform is designed to be the technological anchor for the entire initiative, providing the infrastructure to connect disparate community efforts and translate local action into measurable global impact.

While specific features are under development, such digital health platforms typically provide tools for data collection and management, allowing for real-time monitoring of screening and treatment rates to identify gaps. For individuals, it can improve access to education and linkage to care. For advocates and health workers, it serves as a central hub for coordinating campaigns, sharing resources, and ensuring that data-driven insights inform their work. The goal is to create a sustainable, scalable system that empowers local advocates with the tools previously available only to large, centralized institutions.

The Power of Community in Public Health

This new alliance is a powerful affirmation that technology and high-level policy alone are not enough. The 'Hep B Free Model' is built on the understanding that true progress in public health requires trust, cultural competency, and sustained engagement at the community level. Grassroots organizations are uniquely positioned to overcome the stigma that often surrounds hepatitis B, reach marginalized and at-risk populations, and build the local political will necessary for lasting change.

Experts widely agree that community-led initiatives are essential for addressing health inequities. By establishing trust and understanding local needs, these groups can effectively conduct awareness campaigns, facilitate screening, and navigate newly diagnosed individuals through complex healthcare systems. The partnership's emphasis on empowering these local coalitions—and connecting them to a global support network—is its most defining feature.

By integrating this community-centric approach with CGHE's data-driven strategies, the alliance aims to create a virtuous cycle: local data informs global policy, and global resources are channeled more effectively to support community needs. This model stands in contrast to top-down approaches that can fail to adapt to local contexts.

A Coordinated Strategy in a Complex Landscape

The fight against hepatitis B involves a wide array of actors, including the WHO, The Global Fund, Gavi, and the World Hepatitis Alliance. The Hep B Free-CGHE partnership is not designed to replace these efforts but to fill a critical gap. Its unique value lies in creating a functional bridge between the hyper-local activities of community groups and the macro-level strategies of global health bodies.

This integrated model offers powerful potential synergies. Data collected via the HepBNow platform can provide the evidence needed to advocate for increased funding from major donors like The Global Fund. The partnership’s focus on community-based screening and linkage to care directly supports the vaccination and treatment goals advanced by Gavi and the WHO. By demonstrating a scalable, cost-effective model, the initiative can make a compelling case for greater investment in hepatitis B elimination worldwide.

Ultimately, this collaboration represents a strategic evolution in the global health landscape, one that recognizes that the world's most complex health challenges cannot be solved from the top down or the bottom up alone. It requires a coordinated, multi-level approach that harnesses the power of community, the rigor of data, and the scalability of technology. For the millions unaware they are living with a potentially fatal virus, this unified front offers a renewed sense of hope.