Mission:
Our mission is to support national, state, and local efforts to prevent new hepatitis B infections through vaccination, to identify chronically infected individuals, and to offer appropriate treatment and cancer screening.   Our mission will be achieved by coordinating national, state, and local efforts to attain these four goals:  

• Increase awareness and knowledge about hepatitis B among API
• Achieve universal vaccination of all API children birth to 18, as well as susceptible adults
• Identify individuals with chronic infection through Hepatitis B screening of API adolescents and adults
• Provide appropriate treatment and screening for hepatocellular carcinoma among chronically-infected individuals  

Our strategic plan will include Advocacy, Education, Outreach, and Research:

ADVOCATE at the government level to legislate mandatory HBV vaccination for all school-aged children, to make available free vaccination for all children birth to 18 and at-risk groups, to develop official recommendations regarding the correct screening protocol for hepatitis B and hepatocellular carcinoma, to provide financial support for HBV screening, hepatocellular carcinoma screening, and antiviral therapy for individuals who cannot otherwise afford care, as well as to national programs promoting similar efforts.

EDUCATE at the provider and community levels to promote awareness about the high prevalence of HBV among API, the availability of the Vaccine for Children program for hepatitis B vaccines, the availability of safe and effective treatment, and the importance of screening for liver cancer among chronically-infected individuals.

IMPLEMENT screening programs and vaccination programs in areas around the United States with large API populations in community venues including cultural clubs, health fairs, schools, and churches.  

RESEARCH to identify epidemiologic and demographic factors associated with low vaccination rates and high hepatitis B chronic infection rates, as well as disparities in treatment and cancer screening practices.

Officers:
Chairman: Sam So, MD

Coordinators: Janelle Tangonan Anderson and Thoa Nguyen

Treasurer: Chari Cohen

Regional Director Northeast: Betty Lam and Henry Pollack and Christie Hershey and Haeok Lee

Regional Director Southeast:  Jennifer Bourgeois

Regional Director North Midwest: Hong Liu

Regional Director South Midwest: Gary Euler and Son Do

Regional Director Mountain area

Regional Director Northwest: Kim Nguyen

Regional Director Southwest: Ton Tran and Wendy Berger

Past Chairmen:
Christopher Jenkins
Chau Buu
Anthony Chen
William Chen
Eric Poon
Son Do, MD

Member Organizations:

For a history of past Task Force Officers, click here.

For facts about the Task Force, click here.

For accomplishments of the Task Force, click here.