Gilead Sciences and the National Foundation of Digestive Diseases (NFDD) have announced a new collaborative effort to enhance liver health education in Singapore.

As part of the Gilead Asia Pacific ALL4LIVER Grant program, more than $1 million grant funding has been earmarked to support initiatives to enhance education about viral hepatitis led by community-based organisations across Asia Pacific, with a focus on chronic hepatitis B (HBV).

NFDD is among the first batch of recipients of the ALL4LIVER Grant, and the only organisation from Singapore. Currently, HBV causes 60-70% of the total number of liver cancer cases in the country.

The Gilead Asia Pacific ALL4LIVER Grant was inspired by a large-scale Asian liver health study which identified critical knowledge gaps and attitudes of the general population towards liver health. An online survey conducted with 7,500 respondents across 11 countries/territories: Singapore, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.

The ALL4LIVER Grant targets 11 countries/ territories across the Asia Pacific region – same as those from the Liver Index Study. Submissions focused on strengthening peer support, improving awareness, literacy, and innovation in hepatitis B.