HHS Office of Minority Health Awards Nearly $3 Million to Help Eliminate Hepatitis B

HHS Office of Minority Health Awards Nearly $3 Million to Help Eliminate Hepatitis B

HHS Office of Minority Health Awards Nearly $3 Million to Help Eliminate Hepatitis B

The Office of Minority Health (OMH) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced nearly $3 million in demonstration grants to support the elimination of hepatitis B. The grants, created in consultation with the HHS Office of Infectious Disease and HIV/AIDS Policy and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Division of Viral Hepatitis, seek to test the implementation of comprehensive, culturally competent community-based hepatitis B education, screening, vaccination and treatment programs in disadvantaged and minority communities.

An estimated 850,000 to 2.2 million people in the United States are living with Chronic Hepatitis B (CHB). Just one third of people living with CHB are diagnosed.

The grants from OMH, which is within the HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health, are intended to identify best practices that can be adopted by other government, community and private organizations to help reach HHS’ ultimate goal of ending hepatitis B transmission and reducing morbidity and mortality attributable to chronic hepatitis B infection and in those co-infected with HIV. The funded projects will implement strategic partnerships between community-based organizations serving at-risk communities, departments of health, perinatal hepatitis B programs, safety net providers, research centers and healthcare facilities.

“The Office of Minority Health is committed to the HHS goal of eliminating hepatitis B, and the new OMH demonstration grants will allow community-based partnerships to help lead the way in identifying the most effective strategies for eliminating hepatitis B in at-risk communities, including racial and ethnic minority populations,” said CAPT Felicia Collins, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Minority Health and Director of the Office of Minority Health.

The six organizations receiving the 2019 Hepatitis B Demonstration Grants are: 

For additional information, visit minorityhealth.hhs.gov.