Finding common ground: Uniting the hepatitis B and hepatitis C advocacy movements

Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) are among the leading causes of preventable death worldwide. An estimated 5 million Americans are living with chronic HBV or HCV, most are unaware of their infection. Both viruses are found in people from all racial, ethnic, and socio-economic backgrounds; both can lead to cirrhosis, liver cancer, or liver failure. Historically, advocacy groups have addressed one of these diseases. Advocacy communities grew, but remained separate, fractured by perceptions that affected populations differed too significantly to work together. As a result there are few coordinated federal programs and woefully inadequate funding to address either epidemic. In 2004, the National Viral Hepatitis Roundtable (NVHR) was formed to bring together the two disparate communities. Today NVHR is a coalition of more than 150 public, private, and voluntary organizations dedicated to reducing the incidence of infection, morbidity, and mortality from chronic viral hepatitis. In 2009, NVHR mobilized key stakeholders from each community and Congress to integrate existing disease specific legislation, successfully introducing the first united hepatitis B and C legislation. NVHR in collaboration with Centers for Disease Control, Veterans Administration, and the Office of Minority Health funded a historic report from the Institute of Medicine (IoM) on viral hepatitis and liver cancer in the US. The report provides 22 recommendations for improving the response to viral hepatitis. As the first document of its kind to address HBV and HCV together, the IoM report provides an additional tool to mobilize the HBV and HCV advocates.