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The Hepatitis B Foundation and The African Hepatitis B Advocacy Coalition denounce the unethical HepB birth dose study in Guinea-Bissau

Doylestown, Pa., Oct. 14, 2026 | The Hepatitis B Foundation (HBF) and The African Hepatitis B Advocacy Coalition (ABAC) strongly oppose the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ plan to support a study of the hepatitis B birth dose in Guinea-Bissau. 

We are deeply concerned with the study and its protocols, and the ethical issues that arise with withholding a proven preventative vaccine from those who are at high-risk of contracting the virus. Guinea-Bissau has one of the highest prevalence rates of hepatitis B in the world, with approximately 12% of adults estimated to be living with chronic hepatitis B. Guinea-Bissau also faces a substantial burden of hepatitis B-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), or liver cancer, ranking seventh among the 49 sub-Saharan African countries in liver cancer mortality.  

The hepatitis B birth dose is a critical tool for protecting infants from hepatitis B infection and reducing the risk of the severe, lifelong consequences of chronic infection, including liver cancer. Withholding a well-established and highly successful medical intervention to answer questions that have already been researched extensively and do not contribute to furthering scientific knowledge risks preventable harm and undermines the fragile trust between scientific institutions and the communities they serve.   

The hepatitis B birth dose saves lives, and global access to it should be expanded – not withheld. It is unconscionable to impose the risks and burdens of such research on children in Guinea-Bissau if the same study would not be approved in the US. We condemn any efforts to move this study forward. 

We reaffirm, as per the World Health Organization (WHO) guidance, that the hepatitis B birth dose should be delivered within 24 hours of birth to all healthy infants, and that all pregnant mothers should be tested for hepatitis B when accessible and feasible.   

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