The San Francisco Hep B Free campaign is a collaboration of over fifty diverse public and private interests working together to eliminate the transmission of hepatitis B, with a special emphasis on the Asian and Pacific Islander population who bear a disproportionate rate of chronic hepatitis B infection.

Hepatitis B is a disease caused by infection with the hepatitis B virus (HBV). Infection with HBV can lead to cirrhosis of the liver, liver failure, and liver cancer. 80% of liver cancer worldwide is caused by HBV infection.

Asian Americans tend to be infected at a much higher rate, with 1 in 10 Asians chronically infected with hepatitis B, compared to 1 in 1000 in the general population. Without treatment or monitoring, 1 in 4 of these individuals will die from liver cancer or liver failure.

In California alone, liver cancer is the #1 leading cause of cancer deaths among Laotian American men, the 2nd leading cause of cancer deaths among Cambodian and Vietnamese men, the 4th leading cause of cancer deaths among Chinese and Korean men, and the 5th leading cause of deaths among Filipino men.

The SF Hep B Free Steering Committee is made up of the San Francisco Department of Public Health, Asian Liver Center at Stanford University, and AsianWeek Foundation.
Assemblywoman Ma serves as Honorary Chairperson.