June 2024 Update

Dear Supporters,

As we near the midpoint of 2024 we know that there have been many global as well as domestic

challenges. We hope that each of you has been well, and we thank you for your continued support.

We are happy to report that Hepatitis B Free has been awarded a one-year grant from the Australian

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) to expand our hepatitis work in the outer islands of

Kiribati. We are hopeful that this grant will be extended for additional years if our program bears

fruit. A paper our team wrote that describes our novel treatment algorithm in Kiribati was accepted

for publication in one of the Nature journals. We have also completed submission of a book chapter

that describes our hepatitis work in Kiribati; this book should be published within the next 12

months. Drs. Lee and Hilmers attended the annual meeting of the Asian Pacific Association for the

Study of the Liver (APASL) in April and delivered an oral presentation on guidelines for hepatitis

treatment in remote regions. A team from Hepatitis B Free will return to Kiribati in July to continue

our work there.

At the time of this report, a team from HBF is in Tonga where they are discussing expansion of the

hepatitis program to smaller islands with government and local health officials. Discussions are also

underway to request support from the New Zealand government and to establish a bonded

warehouse that can provide a central source of hepatitis anti-viral medications to the entire region.

At this time, we are still unable to enter North Korea; however, we see some encouraging signs. We

have had a long-term collaboration with two other NGO’s working with us in the DPRK, Christian

Friends of Korea and Global Care Partners. Representatives from HBF, CFK, and GCP met in Florida

earlier this month and had detailed discussions about future plans and strategies.

The coming months will be busy ones. In addition to our Kiribati trip in July, we will send a team

back to Madagascar in September-October to continue the hepatitis work that has begun there. We

plan to return to Papua New Guinea to work on projects in Popondetta and in Port Moresby and

potentially at a new site in the province of New Britain.

As we have said many times before, none of this would be possible without your kind support. We

thank you for all you have done to allow HBF to serve those who would otherwise suffer from lack of

treatment.

Sincerely,

David Hilmers

Chief Medical Officer