《TAIPEI TIMES》 Foundation celebrates 25 years fighting liver disease, shares hopes for hospital

By Lee I-chia / Staff reporter

The Liver Disease Prevention and Treatment Research Foundation yesterday celebrated its 25th anniversary in Taipei, saying it hopes to establish a hospital that specializes in treating liver disease and eliminate liver disease in Taiwan.

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Foundation chairperson Hsu Ching-chuan （許金川） said that liver disease has been called Taiwan’s “national disease” for many decades, because of its high prevalence in the country.

About one in five adults in Taiwan was a chronic hepatitis B carrier, until the late founder of the foundation, Sung Juei-low （宋瑞樓）, began pushing a universal hepatitis B vaccination program for all newborns in Taiwan, he said.

The hepatitis B carrier rate in children has dropped to less than 1 percent, Hsu said, adding that there are medications that can keep hepatitis B under control, as well as drugs for treating hepatitis C that have a very high cure rate.

Attending the event, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung （陳時中） said that the government has aims to eliminate hepatitis C nationwide by 2025, so it had allocated about NT$14.5 billion （US$462.33 million） in the past three years and more than NT$6 billion this year for hepatitis C treatment.

A liver disease screening program has been implemented to find patients who need treatment. It includes medicine deliveries to people in Aboriginal communities to receive proper, continuous treatment, he added.

The hepatitis C cure rate has increased from 97 percent in the program’s first year to about 98.2 percent, and even 99 percent in a few communities, Chen said.

The foundation established the Good Liver Clinic in 2013 and the Good Liver Health Management Center in 2017, thanks to donations, Hsu said, adding that it is now extending the clinic to add more space for outpatient consultation rooms.

After the extension is completed in September, the foundation plans to establish a hospital or even a medical center specializing in liver disease treatment, he added.

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES