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ANNUAL REPORT

2019

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« EVERYONE

DESERVES A

HEALTHY LIVER »

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FOREWORD

2019 - A year of transition

2019 marked the third year of the EASL International Liver Foundation (EILF).

Guided by our four programmatic pillars, in 2019 the Foundation continued to fulfil its

global mandate to improve liver health. We were proud to launch the first EILF Centre of

Excellence in Viral Hepatitis, in Georgia, signing a memorandum of understanding with the

government there. This initiative is a model which promotes national action and global

collaboration and we are grateful to all the national and international partners who

continue to make this a success.

In September 2019, we convened a dialogue on viral hepatitis micro-elimination in the

Middle East hosting a roundtable of regional and global experts in Dubai, while we

continued to support San Patrignano, a rehabilitation programme for young people with

drug addiction in Italy.

In 2019, we also expanded our work on NAFLD, initiating a global review of relevant national

strategies and policies and launching a multistakeholder process to shape and deliver a

coordinated global response to this public health challenge. EILF also awarded the first two

Albert Geerts Fellowships for the EASL Consortium for Regenerative Hepatology.

With the appointment of a new secretariat director towards the end of 2019, EILF is

strengthening its expertise in fundraising and communication to bring the awareness of its

programmes to the next level. This will include exploring digital tools which will enable us to

further accomplish our primary role: to create opportunities and deliver impactful projects

that benefit the lives of liver disease patients and the wider liver health community,

particularly in low and middle-income countries.

While the unprecedented situation created by COVID-19 has disrupted work for many

organisations, including us, we continue to engage with our partners, and initiate new

collaborations to raise funds for liver disease patients around the world.

Everyone deserves a healthy liver!

Prof. Massimo Colombo, Chairman Prof. Jeffrey V. Lazarus, Vice-Chairman

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CONTENTS

3. Foreword

From the Chairman & Vice-Chairman

5. Governance

• Mission

• Vision

• Values

• Governing Board

7. Our four pillars

8. Newsletter

9. Achievements

• Centre of Excellence, Georgia

• Viral Hepatitis micro-elimination

• Public awareness & NAFLD

• San Patrignano

• EASL Consortium for Regenerative

Hepatology

11. Finances

• Auditors’ report

• Financial report

14. Acknowledgements

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GOVERNANCE

MISSION

The EASL International Liver

Foundation is a global non-profit

organization, established by

the European Association for the

Study of the Liver (EASL), committed

to increasing the quality of life and

reducing premature mortality for the

greatest number of people by

improving liver health

VISION

Everyone deserves a healthy liver VALUES

Solidarity

Impact orientation

Integrity

Neutrality

GOVERNING BOARD

Until end 2019

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THE BOARD

Prof. Massimo Colombo Chairman

Prof. Jeffrey V. Lazarus Vice-Chairman

Prof. Thomas Berg Board Member

Prof. Christian Bréchot Board Member

Prof. Jordi Bruix Board Member

Prof. Manal El-Sayed Board Member

Prof. Francesco Negro Board Member

Prof. Philip N. Newsome Board Member

Prof. Andrea Sironi Board Member

Prof. Mark Thursz Board Member

Prof. Stefan Wiktor Board Member (Until December 2019)

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OUR FOUR PILLARS

EILF has four main pillars which guide our work. Each of our projects helps us to achieve our goal of improving liver health and enabling people to live healthy lives. We invite anyone interested in making a difference in liver health to support our efforts

VIR

AL

HEP

ATI

TIS

ELIM

INA

TIO

N

PU

BLI

C A

WA

REN

ESS

RES

EAR

CH

EDU

CA

TIO

N

“

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NEWSLETTER

Our Newsletter has been created to bring the best and latest

thinking in Hepatology. With the help of experts in their

respective fields, we aim to publish articles that can start and

nurture discussion, showcase new learning and developments.

EILF publishes a triannual newsletter.

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ACHIEVEMENTS

Georgia Centre of Excellence in

Viral Hepatitis Elimination On April 13th, 2019 at the International Liver

Congress in Vienna, EILF announced Georgia

as the first Centre of Excellence in viral

hepatitis elimination. The Foundation signed a

memorandum of understanding with the

Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from

the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and

Social Affairs which set out how the EILF

would support national efforts to eliminate

viral hepatitis. EILF engaged with national

stakeholders on a number of activities during

the year. Vice-Chair, Professor Jeffrey Lazarus,

represented the Foundation at the meeting of

the Technical Advisory Group which was held

from 30th November to 1st December 2019.

The meeting brought together key

stakeholders engaged in the national viral

hepatitis elimination to assess the programme

status and to provide guidance on updating

the elimination strategy. As part of the centre

of excellence programme, EILF also provided

funding and technical support to a long-term

follow-up study on patients treated though

the viral hepatitis elimination programme.

This works aims to assess the long-term

impact of the elimination programme

including patient quality of life. A dedicated

section can be accessed from the EILF

website.

The micro-elimination of hepatitis

in the Middle East On September 28th, 2019, EILF hosted a roundtable dialogue on Viral Hepatitis Elimination in the Middle East in Dubai. Experts and key opinion leaders from the following three countries, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, participated in the event which focused on identifying priority actions to accelerate the micro-elimination efforts in the region. The report is available on the EILF website.

Public awareness and NAFLD EILF conducted a policy review survey on non-

alcoholic fatty liver disease with experts from

29 European countries in order to determine

the policy response to this increasingly

prevalent condition in the region. The results

highlighted the lack of response to this silent

public health crisis, with no country in the

region having a NAFLD strategy and major

gaps in guidelines, awareness and education.

The findings have been published in the

Journal of Hepatology. The Foundation has

expanded the review globally in 2020 and

signed agreements with Wilton Park and the

Economist Intelligence Unit for a series of

meetings and workshops to be held

worldwide in 2020-21.

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San Patrignano, Italy – I can! Training for Healthcare Workers For almost 40 years, San Patrignano has been supporting people with serious drug problems

on a path to recovery from drug addiction, enabling them to effectively reintegrate into

work, to achieve financial autonomy, social acceptance and to build self-esteem and self-

fulfilment. EILF has been working with San Patrignano to establish a vocational training

course for people on the drug-dependency rehabilitation scheme in San Patrignano, with

the aim of having 25 young residents of facility participate in the course to qualify as health

and social care workers. As a result, 14 obtained HC worker qualification and 13 were

immediately employed in the field in Italy.

EASL Consortium for Regenerative Hepatology

In 2019, the EASL Consortium for Regenerative Hepatology awarded the first two Albert

Geerts Fellowship. This followed a highly competitive process with the review led by EILF

Chairman Professor Massimo Colombo. The two awardees will both receive a 40,000 Euro

scholarship from EILF covering 1 year of salary and a small travel stipend. The Foundation is

also providing operational and strategic support to the Consortium.

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AUDIT REPORT AND FINANCIAL

STATEMENT

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

EASL International Liver Foundation

would like to thank all our partners and

private donors for their generous and

continuous support.

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EASL International Liver Foundation

Rue Daubin 7bis | 1203 Geneva | Switzerland

T +41 22 552 24 99 | E info@easl-ilf.org | easl-ilf.org