• Dr Jonathan Ngoma, Hospital Director Kamuzu Central Hospital
• Prof Adrian Stanley, University of Glasgow, UK
• Dr Alexander Stockdale, University of Liverpool/ Malawi Liverpool Wellcome Programme, Blantyre
• Dr John Mponda, Kamuzu University of Health Sciences, Blantyre
• Dr Gift Mulima, Kamuzu Central Hospital, Lilongwe
• Prof Maud Lemoine, Imperial College London, UK (Remote)
• Dr Mike Vinikoor, University Teaching Hospital Lusaka, Zambia
• Dr Wilfred Dzama, Malawi Blood Transfusion Service, Blantyre
• Dr Owen Nkoka, Malawi Epidemiology and Intervention Research Unit, Lilongwe
• Dr Rabson Kachala and Dr Wongani Mzumara, Malawi Ministry of Health, Lilongwe
• Prof Philippa Easterbrooke, WHO Geneva (Remote)
• Dr Davies Mtotha, Mr Ellos Lodzeni (Patient group representatives
  

Organisers: Dr Alexander Stockdale, University of Liverpool/ Malawi Liverpool Wellcome Trust and Dr Wongani Mzumara, Malawi Ministry of Health

Co-funders: Clinton Health Access Initiative, Baylor Children’s Foundation Malawi

Event Information: Bingu International Conference Centre, Lilongwe, Malawi, 28th September 2023

Aims:

• To run an update on the management of liver disease to provide training for Malawian physicians, clinical officers and policymakers
• To provide a forum for discussion and debate on optimizing care for patients with liver disease, cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma
• To disseminate the recently published Malawi guidelines for management of viral hepatitis from 2023

With the generous support of a grant from the British Society of Gastroenterology we organized a training  conference: the Third Conference on Liver Disease in Malawi. We provided travel and accommodation for delegates from all over Malawi, ranging from Karonga in the far north to Chikwawa in the South. Delegates heard updates from a range of international and local expert speakers on the practical management of liver disease, new research findings from Malawi, an update on new guidelines for managing viral hepatitis.

We enjoyed a mix of lectures and panel discussions and debates, as well as networking opportunities. The support for travel and local accommodation allowed delegates from district and more remote settings who have few opportunities to attend formal teaching, to access high quality teaching from experts. A total of 80 delegates attended the one-day course in Lilongwe including clinicians designated hepatitis B focal persons responsible for implementing hepatitis B care in each of the regions of Malawi. We made available teaching materials from the course afterwards to download the slides from an online repository.

SESSION 2: VIRAL HEPATITIS
Chairperson: Dr. Tamiwe Tomoka, Kamuzu Central Hospital
Rapporteur: MLW representative

1100: Mother to child transmission of hepatitis B in Africa: what do we know, what is new and what can we do? - Prof Maud Lemoine, Consultant Hepatologist, Imperial College London and MRC Gambia
1130: Hepatitis B and HIV interaction in Zambia - Dr Mike Vinikoor, Consultant Physician and Associate Professor, University of Alabama and University Teaching Hospital, Lusaka, Zambia; Kamuzu Central Hospital, Lilongwe
1150: Viral Hepatitis and the Malawi Blood Transfusion Service - Dr Wilfred Dzama, Director, Malawi Blood Transfusion Service
1210: Epidemiology of Hepatitis B and C and alcohol in Karonga and Lilongwe - Dr Owen Nkoka and Dr Nicholas Riches, Malawi Epidemiology and Intervention Research Unit
(MEIRU)