
A UN Group of Friends to Eliminate Hepatitis
On September 20th, the Coalition for Global Hepatitis Elimination hosted a side-event to the 77th session of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly on “Solidarity for Hepatitis Elimination: A Call for a UN Group of Friends.” This event brought together participants from more than 20 countries, including ministers of health, permanent representatives to UN missions, national hepatitis program coordinators, alongside international partners. A total of 10 official county representatives from Chile, Egypt, Georgia, Ghana, Malaysia, Nigeria, Portugal, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, and Ukraine voiced commitment to joining a Group of Friends over the course of the event. Similar support was voiced by government affiliated academic representatives from China and Japan. Korea announced readiness to explore formation.
Since the side-event in September of 2022, the Group of Friends formation was formalized with the Permanent Mission of Egypt as its leader. The Coalition is proud to serve as the group's Secretariat, and will provide frequent updates and important information on this webpage for stakeholders and supporters of the Group.
Progress Towards a Group of Friends
On Dec 20, 2022, building on the momentum from the event, Egypt's Permanent Representative, Ambassador Osama Abdelkhalek, formally invited all Member States to join the Group of Friends to Eliminate Hepatitis. He wrote, "The Group of Friends on Hepatitis Elimination is built on a foundation of building political will to promote access to hepatitis prevention, care, and treatment and seeks to provide a platform for exchanging information, best practices, models for innovation and lessons learned."
The Permanent Mission of Egypt to the United Nations launched the Group of Friends to Eliminate Hepatitis with a kickoff meeting on February 28, 2023. The event was hosted by Ambassador Abdelkhalek and attended virtually by sixty participants from more than twenty-five member states. Also in attendance were partners from WHO, the African Union, and the Coalition for Global Hepatitis Elimination, which serves as secretariat of the group.

Dr. Nida Ali Presents on UN Group of Friends at IVHEM
Dr. Nida Ali from the Coalition for Global Hepatitis Elimination presents on the background, progress and goals of a Group of Friends at the International Viral Hepatitis Elimination Summit.

The World Came Together: A UN Group of Friends Short Video
Representatives from more than a dozen countries call for a UN Group of Friends to Eliminate Hepatitis.

Join the Fight: It's Time for a UN Group of Friends to Eliminate Hepatitis
A short promotional video about the Group of Friends to watch and share!

Dr. Francis Collins, Science Advisor to President Biden, Supports a UN Group of Friends

See the full press release on the UN side event

Watch the Event: A Call for a UN Group of Friends to Eliminate Hepatitis
Watch the recorded live at the 77th session of the UN General Assembly on Sept. 20, 2022