Hepatitis B/D Prevention
Maternal screening & mother-to-child transmission interruption
Nearly one in three expectant mothers in Kiribati carries hepatitis B. One intervention at birth protects a lifetime — and at this prevalence, a generation.
The Need
Hepatitis B is hyperendemic in Kiribati: studies put prevalence at 15–23% of the population, with roughly 30% of expectant mothers testing positive at the national referral hospital. Kiribati also has one of the world's highest rates of hepatitis B/D co-infection — a combination that sharply accelerates cirrhosis and liver failure. In the Pacific islands, chronic hepatitis B kills more people than HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria combined, and the virus passes from mother to child at birth, seeding lifelong infection in the next generation.
The tragedy is that the playbook is proven and cheap: screen mothers during pregnancy, provide antiviral prophylaxis to those who test positive, administer a birth-dose vaccine within 24 hours of delivery. On paper, Kiribati's national program reports birth-dose coverage above 90%. In reality, published research shows 3% of children aged 0–5 carry hepatitis B — thirty times the WHO elimination target, essentially unchanged in a decade. The programs exist; they are not working where it counts. The failure is in the last mile — cold-chain storage, timing, record-keeping, and delivery on outer islands the system barely reaches.
The Program
Last-mile execution on these islands is precisely what Oceans of Gratitude does. We are ready to launch a screening and immunization program designed with local providers and run at the village level, where births actually happen:
Maternal hepatitis screening in pregnancy, paired naturally with the Vitamin Angels prenatal program and the ultrasound initiative.
Antiviral prophylaxis for mothers who test positive.
Reliable birth-dose vaccination within 24 hours of delivery, with catch-up immunization for children.
Cold-chain, records & provider training — the same storage and inventory discipline built for the Vitamin Angels distribution, extended to vaccines.
Program Funding (Annual)
Maternal screening kits & antiviral prophylaxis — $8,000–$15,000
Birth-dose & catch-up vaccination, cold-chain equipment — $7,000–$15,000
Provider training at village level (both islands) — $5,000–$10,000
Screening & vaccination records, registry integration — $2,000–$5,000
Village outreach & education — $3,000–$5,000
Total annual program — $25,000–$50,000
Support This Program
Protect a newborn. Every gift funds screening, prophylaxis, and the birth-dose that interrupts transmission for a lifetime.
$10,000 funds village-level provider training across both islands.
$50,000 runs the full program for a year — and starts protecting a generation.
Donate Now → All contributions are tax-deductible. To direct your gift to this program, note the program name with your donation or contact us.
Program Updates
The latest from the field. Check back here as this program grows.
2026 — Program designed. The village-level screening and birth-dose program is designed with local providers and ready to launch on funding.