Coalition Against Hepatitis for People of African Origin (CHIPO)
The Coalition Against Hepatitis for People of African Origin (CHIPO) is a national community coalition co-founded and led by the Hepatitis B Foundation. We are comprised of organizations and individuals interested in addressing the high rates of hepatitis B infection among African communities in the U.S. CHIPO serves as a forum for sharing information and best practices, and improving national capacity to improve hepatitis B awareness, testing, vaccination and treatment among highly affected African communities.
People of African origin are disproportionately affected by hepatitis B infection. In fact, in some African communities in the U.S., between 5% and 15% of people have chronic HBV infection. Unfortunately, due to the silent nature of the disease, lack of disease awareness, and limited health care access, most African community members who have hepatitis B DO NOT KNOW that they are infected. This puts them at much greater risk for premature death from cirrhosis or liver cancer.
The key to addressing the high burden of hepatitis B infection in people of African origin is to improve awareness and access to hepatitis B information, screening, vaccination, and follow-up care. CHIPO brings together people from around the country who are working in their own local communities to address these very issues.
Join CHIPO!
Does your organization serve African immigrant populations in the U.S., or are you a passionate community member? All are welcome at CHIPO's coalition calls! Our next call will take place on Monday January 23rd, 2023 at 3pm Eastern Time and will feature a discussion of updated hepatitis B screening and vaccination recommendations in the United States and how these can best be implemented in African communities! Email beatrice.zovich@hepb.org if you have questions or are interested in joining!
Listen to a new podcast: Spotlight on Stigma
Join us for a podcast in which researchers from the Hepatitis B Foundation in the United States and the University of New South Wales in Australia come together to discuss the profound impacts stigma can have on the lives of people living with hepatitis B.
Click here to listen!
Unlocking Viral Hepatitis Elimination on the African Continent
Check out our latest webinar showcasing work around hepatitis elimination and introducing a concept for an African consortium that can seek out and apply for funding to advance collective hepatitis elimination goals.
News and Updates
Check out our blog post, which provides an overview of CHIPO's goals and objectives, where we've been and where we're going. We hope you join us!
Check out a recent webinar collaboration between CHIPO & Hep B United: Addressing Myths & Misconceptions about Hepatitis B among African Immigrant Communities around the United States. There are many myths surrounding various aspects of hepatitis B, including its prevalence, transmission, prevention, testing, severity, and treatment.This webinar explores some of the most widespread misconceptions, particularly in African communities around the United States, from a variety of perspectives, including those of healthcare providers and a community health practitioner. Watch to learn more!
Watch our recent webinar: Understanding Disparities in Hepatitis B and Liver Cancer Knowledge and Screening Rates Among Highly Impacted Communities Around the United States. In it, panelists discuss conclusions & insights from a recent project to identify & close gaps in hepatitis B & liver cancer knowledge and screening rates in communities around the US that are highly affected by these two diseases, including those from sub-Saharan Africa and the Caribbean. Check it out today!
Recent Journal of Gastroenterology article (September 2022): Prevalence and Predictors of Viral Hepatitis D Co-Infection in Chronic HbsAg Carriers
Recent Healio article (August 2022): Despite Global Headway, Africa Lags on Eliminating Mother-to-Child HBV Transmission
Recent Lancet article (July 2022): Treatment of Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Sub-Saharan Africa: Challenges and Solutions
Recent article (May 2022): Low-Cost Scoring System Informs HBV Treatment Eligibility in Resource-Limited Countries
Recent article (April 2022): Rwanda Shows Improvement in Hepatitis Treatment
Recent article (April 2022): Experts Review Efforts on Diagnosing Hepatitis in Sub-Saharan Africa
Recent BMC Medical Education article (April 2022): A Training for Healthcare Workers to Integrate Hepatitis B Care and Treatment into Routine HIV Care in a High HBV Burden, Poorly Resourced Region of Uganda: The 2for1 Project
Recent Nature articles (March 2022): Africa's Struggle with Hepatitis B and The Global Fight Against Hepatitis B Is Benefitting Some Parts of the World More Than Others
Recent Global Health: Science and Practice article (February 2022): Implementation Approaches for Introducing and Overcoming Barriers to Hepatitis B Birth-Dose Vaccine in Sub-Saharan Africa
Recent Lancet article (February 2022): Residual Risk of Mother-to-Child Transmission of Hepatitis B Virus Infection Despite Timely Birth-Dose Vaccination in Cameroon: A Single-Centre, Longitudinal Observational Study
Recent article (February 2022): Thirty African Countries Now Back Africa Medicines Agency Treaty, But Continent's Economic Powers Still Hold Out
Recent Viruses article (January 2022): Global Disparities in Hepatitis B Elimination: A Focus on Africa
Recent article (January 2022): Impeding the High Prevalence of Hepatitis B in Nigeria: The Pharmacist's Perspective
Recent article (January 2022): Mozambique: Maputo Study on Cutting Mother to Child Transmission of Hepatitis B
Article (December 2021) in Risk Management and Healthcare Policy: Burden and Transmission Risks of Viral Hepatitis in Southern Ethiopia: Evidence Needed for Prevention and Control Measures
Lancet article (November 2021): Breaking Down Barriers for Hepatitis B Screening in the Bronx West African Community through Education in Collaboration with Faith-Based Organizations: A Cohort Study
Article in Infection and Drug Resistance (October 2021): Seroprevalence of Hepatitis B Virus and Associated Factors Among Female Sex Workers Using Respondent-Driven Sampling in Hawassa City, Ethiopia
Major Article Published in Nature on Hepatitis B in Africa: The Silent Epidemic Killing More People Than HIV, Malaria or TB
View our Publication! Barriers to Hepatitis B Screening and Prevention for African Immigrant Populations in the United States: A Qualitative Study (2020)
Exciting news about National African Immigrant and Refugee HIV/AIDS & Hepatitis Awareness (NAIRHHA) Day!: Reps. Johnson, Meng, and Lee Push to Recognize Sept. 9th as National African Immigrant and Refugee HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis Awareness (NAIRHHA) Day
The November 2022 CHIPO coalition call featured a presentation by Dr. Yasmin Ibrahim of the Hepatitis B Foundation, who presented her recent paper entitled Attitudes towards clinical trial participation among people living with chronic hepatitis B. You can view Dr. Ibrahim's slides here.
Check out a new podcast from our partners at the United States Coalition for African Immigrant Health, all about hepatitis B in African communities, and featuring two of our new #justB storytellers!
In July of 2022, the CHIPO coalition call focused on stigma and discrimination surrounding hepatitis B in African communities and included presentations from Mohamed Ali, a Public Health Manager for Seattle and King County, Washington and Cait O'Donnell, Manager of Health and Social Programs at African Family Health Organization (AFAHO) in Philadelphia. You can view Mohamed's slides here and Cait's slides here.
CHIPO's May 2022 coalition call featured an overview of the fundamentals of grant-writing. View slides from this presentation here.
At our March 2022 meeting, we hosted Dr. Yvonne Nartey of the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital in Ghana and Mr. Kenneth Kabagambe, Founder and Executive Director of the National Organization for People Living with Hepatitis B in Uganda. Both discussed the great hepatitis B and C advocacy efforts they are undertaking in their respective countries. You can view Dr. Nartey's slides here.
On our February 2022 coalition call, we were pleased to host Fatima Omarufilo, Program Coordinator and Patient Navigator at the Starfish Program at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx, NY, who presented the work that she and her colleagues had done on their paper about breaking down barriers for hepatitis B screening in the Bronx West African community through education in collaboration with faith-based organizations. You can view Fatima's slides here.
In December of 2021, Dr. Peyton Thompson, a pediatric infectious disease specialist and assistant professor at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, shared with us her work on the project "Arresting Vertical Transmission of Hepatitis B Virus (AVERT-HBV) in Pregnant Women and Their Neonates in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: A Feasibility Study." View the slides here.
In November of 2021, Dr. Noemi Tousignant from the Department of Science and Technology Studies at University College, London, joined us to discuss work on her paper "Filtering Inequalities: Screening and Knowledge in Senegal's Topography of Hepatitis B Care." View the slides here.
Montefiore Einstein Starfish Project is offering FREE hepatitis B testing for West Africans in the Bronx, NYC. Click here for more details. Additionally, the Starfish Program has hepatitis B fact sheets available for West African communities that can be found in English, Twi, Hausa, French, and Igbo. View their presentation on the success of their hepatitis B community outreach, education, screening, prevention, and linkage to care program here.
African Services Committee in New York City recently delivered a presentation on Project DELIVER: Decreasing and Eliminating Liver Cancer by Increasing Viral Hepatitis Testing & Educational Resources. Click here to view the presentation. ASC has also recently created a flyer in both English and French about understanding your hepatitis B test results. View this resource here.
From our Blog
CHIPO Partner Highlight: United States Coalition for African Immigrant Health
CHIPO Partner Highlight: Illinois Public Health Association
CHIPO Partner Highlight: Great Lakes Peace Centre
Tackling Hepatitis B in Africa: The First Nigerian Hepatitis Summit
Where is Hepatitis Delta? High Prevalence of Hepatitis B/Delta Coinfection in Central Africa
Raising Awareness about Hepatitis B in African Immigrant Communities in the US
CHIPO Call Minutes
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