Since 2015, I have headed a research group focusing on hepatitis B in Ethiopia. The focus has been to develop cheaper and simpler treatment algorithms for hepatitis B. Over the past 8 years, I have set up several large treatment programs in various parts of Ethiopia, currently caring for more than 7 000 patients with hepatitis B. The work has drawn international attention and the group was currently included in the working group responsible for the World Health Organization’s hepatitis B guidelines.
In 2020/21 we founded HEPSANET (Hepatitis B in Africa collaborative network) which is a research consortium of 17 partner institutions in 12 African countries. The idea is to merge data from multiple sites to generate studies that can be generalizable to Africa, since most of our previous knowledge of hepatitis B comes from Asia. HEPSANET recently received a 1.5 million USD grant from John C Martin Foundation, which will be used to establish a unique registry of more than 15 000 hepatitis B patients from across Africa.
From 4 to 6 September 2023, HEPSANET organized its first face-to-face workshop in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. 33 participants took part in the training, which was organized in collaboration with Africa Centre for Disease Control (CDC). A second workshop will be organized in West Africa in October 2023, for the Francophone HEPSANET collaborators. The aim of the partnership between HEPSANET and Africa CDC is to develop African hepatitis B guidelines, which will be key to combat hepatitis B on the African continent.
