05 Jun 2019
Doherty Institute redesignated WHO Collaborating Centre for Viral Hepatitis
Following designation as a WHO Collaborating Centre for Viral Hepatitis in 2015, the Doherty Institute has successfully been redesignated as a Collaborating Centre for the period 2019 to 2023. The WHO Collaborating Centre for Viral Hepatitis at The Doherty Institute is one of only five Collaborating Centres for Viral Hepatitis globally, and performs a broad range of activities supporting global control of viral hepatitis, including basic research and reference virology, surveillance, treatment and prevention initiatives, and training and capacity building.
The main objectives of the Collaboration agreement are to support WHO in strengthening epidemiological and laboratory capacity for implementing global and regional frameworks and strategies towards the elimination of viral hepatitis as a public health threat by 2030, and to assist WHO in providing technical support, capacity building and implementation models for testing and treatment across the continuum of prevention, care and treatment for hepatitis, including the elimination of mother to child transmission of viral hepatitis.
The redesignation of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Viral Hepatitis at The Doherty Institute recognises Professor Benjamin Cowie and his team at the Doherty as leaders in viral hepatitis and the contribution their laboratory, public health and epidemiological programs have made in viral hepatitis research and public health policy at an international level.