AASLD recently provided a grant in support of the Flagstaff International Relief Effort’s (FIRE) hepatitis related projects in Mongolia.
FIRE is dedicated to providing resources and support to individuals and communities in need, from poverty, political instability, or natural disasters. Their programs are currently focused in Mongolia, an area of the world that a recent article in the Lancet concluded "…has the world's highest rate of liver cancer (deaths) - six times the global average - and the number is increasing..." According to the World Health Organization, "…one of every ten deaths in the country is due to HCC (hepatocellular carcinoma or liver cancer) or its frequent precursor, cirrhosis. In the absence of a solid understanding of this epidemiology, the country's hepatitis C prevalence continues to rise…" Seldom do we hear about these silent tragedies. One of FIRE's missions is to get the message out to the world and to make a change.
With funding from AASLD and other organizations, FIRE has since August been able to:
- Test 400 health care workers for hepatitis B
- Send 300 samples to NIH for testing and epidemiological study of hepatitis B, C and D
- Facilitate the vaccination of 400 selected health care workers for hepatitis B
- Facilitate the distribution of 20,000 sharps containers
FIRE’s goals for the spring and summer of 2012 are to:
- Complete a training video for health care workers on health safety practices and hepatitis prevention
- Facilitate the distribution of 40,000 sharps containers
- Train 200 health care workers on hepatitis prevention
- Send 500 blood samples to NIH to conduct testing and epidemiological study of hepatitis B, C, and D
- Continue the development of a new project with the National Cancer Institute (NCI), a division of NIH, addressing liver cancer
To learn more about FIRE’s hepatitis related projects in Mongolia visit www.fireprojects.org
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