Charles Gore (Vice-Chair)

Charles Gore was diagnosed with hepatitis C in 1995 and cirrhosis in 1998. Troubled by his own inability to find clear, accurate and unbiased information and by the lack of any organisation providing support in the UK, he set up The Hepatitis C Trust in 2001. In 2002 he did pegylated interferon and ribavirin treatment and successfully eradicated the virus.

He has worked extensively with Government Departments and the National Health Service in the UK, championing the patient perspective. He was closely involved in the creation of the European Liver Patients Association and was elected its first President in 2004, promoting the cause of hepatitis B and hepatitis C at European level.

In 2007 he organised a meeting of hepatitis patient organisations from around the world to agree on co-ordinated global action. From this emerged the decision to hold an annual World Hepatitis Day and to create a new NGO, the World Hepatitis Alliance. The Alliance has over 250 member organisations from more than 60 countries and Charles is the President.

In 2010 Charles addressed the WHO at both the Executive Board meeting and the World Health Assembly and asked, on behalf of the 500 million people chronically infected with hepatitis B or C, for a global strategy to control and prevent viral hepatitis. The WHO duly passed a resolution to establish such a strategy, together with an official World Hepatitis Day.