Comedians get together to raise hepatitis C awareness among British Asians

LEADING comedians have come together to raise awareness about hepatitis C and its risk factors in British South Asian communities.

Hep C, Ki? is a new campaign by Gilead Sciences and The Hepatitis C Trust, with the support of NHS England, that uses comedy to breakdown barriers of stigma and fuel conversations around hepatitis C and its associated risk factors in British South Asian communities.

The prevalence of hepatitis C is higher in British South Asian communities (1.1 per cent) compared to the wider UK population (0.2 per cent) and it is estimated that as many as half of people living with the disease are unaware they have it.

As part of their commitment towards elimination of hepatitis C in England, Gilead Sciences have created a first-of-its-kind collaboration with leading British South Asian comedians, The Hepatitis C Trust and the support of NHS England.

Their campaign, Hep C, Ki?, uses an unconventional approach of comedy to breakdown barriers of stigma and fuel light-hearted conversations about South Asian idiosyncrasies, that intersect with the risk factors for contracting hepatitis C.

Hep C, Ki?, which broadly translates in colloquial terms from many South Asian languages as Hep C, What?, is built on insights from a survey of 300 people from British South Asian communities, as well as input from healthcare professionals and regional hepatitis C Operational Delivery Networks.

At the heart of the campaign is the comedy narrative written and performed by prime-time comedians Eshaan Akbar, Sukh Ojla and Ali Shahalom (Ali Official). The comedians filmed a series of stand-up and chat sequences exploring a range of topics from travels to their ancestral homelands, family attitudes to health and their eclectic mix of home medicines and remedies.

The full videos of the campaign are available at www.hepc.co.uk.