Structure

Executive Board and President

1. The Alliance is composed of Members which are organisations with a primary interest in chronic viral hepatitis. Individuals may not be Members but umbrella organisations may. Organisations or groups that do not qualify for membership may become ‘Associated Groups’.

2. It is not necessary to be a Member of the Alliance in order to take part in World Hepatitis Day and other viral hepatitis awareness-raising activities organised by the Alliance. Indeed, non-members are encouraged to take part and to make use of materials provided by the Alliance.

3. The Alliance is governed by an Executive Board, consisting of a President and 6 Regional Board Members each representing one of the 6 world regions and the countries therein, as defined by the World Health Organization (the ‘WHO’):

Africa
Americas
Eastern Mediterranean
Europe
South East Asia
Western Pacific

The WHO website – www.who.int/about/regions – lists which countries belong to which regions.

4. The 6 Regional Board Members and the President must all be chronic viral hepatitis patients, defined as someone who has or has had chronic hepatitis B or chronic hepatitis C infection. The Regional Board Members are elected by a majority vote of the Voting Members of their respective regions.

Since governance experience, although desirable, is not required for the role of Regional Board Member (representing the views of patients is more important), the Board may also include a number of Non-Voting Board Members able to offer advice and support. These will include an observer from WHO Geneva as well as any additional viral hepatitis patients as necessary to ensure that there is sufficient representation for both hepatitis B and hepatitis C.

In line with the philosophy of the Alliance, the role of the Regional Board Members is:

To provide governance and strategic direction to the Alliance
To represent the patient groups in their region and their interests within the Alliance
Where requested, to help patient groups with national advocacy
To encourage patient groups to work together, both nationally and regionally, to bring together the global community and provide cohesion and strength

The role of the Regional Board Members is not to dictate what patient groups in their region they should do or how they should operate.

5. The President represents the whole membership and is elected by majority vote of the Regional Board Members.