Ghana to hold the first global congress on sickle cell disease

Sat. July 10,2010

THE Global Sickle Cell Disease Research Network, in collaboration with the Sickle Cell Foundation of Ghana, will organise the first global congress on the sickle cell disease (SCD) at the Accra International Conference Centre (AICC) from July 20 to 23, 2010.
The theme for the event is: "Sickle Cell Disease, 1910-2010: 100 Years of Science, Still Seeking Global Solutions".
The congress will bring together medical and research scientists, public health officials, national, international and community-based sickle cell organisations, non-governmental organisations, people with sickle cell disease and their families from all over the world.
It follows advocacy for an organised global effort to address the many issues on the SCD which have been advanced at several international meetings, including, the joint World Health Organisation-Thalassemia International Federation (WHO-TIF) meeting on the management of haemoglobin disorders held at Nicosia, Cyprus, in November 2007 and the international symposium and workshop held in Cotonou, Benin, on January 26-28, 2009.
That was organised in conjunction with the official opening of the newly expanded National Sickle Cell Disease Centre in the Republic of Benin and co-sponsored by the Programme for Global Paediatric Research Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada.
Others were recommendations made at the inaugural commemoration of the World Sickle Cell Disease Awareness Day at the United Nations Headquarters, New York, USA, on June 19, 2009.
The Accra congress is expected to address the health educational and psycho-social needs of affected persons and families, public health issues in SCD, medical care, research, programme development in SCD and the development of international community-based organisations.
In addition, research scientists from developing and developed nations will have the opportunity to advance research collaboration through workshops as a follow-up to the January 2009 Benin symposium and workshop, during which the Global Sickle Cell Disease Research Network was inaugurated.
Finally, the congress will follow up on the joint WHO-TIF meeting on the management of haemoglobin disorders at Nicosia, Cyprus, in November 2007 with the adoption of a plan for the establishment of a Sickle Cell Disease International Federation, representing countries and regions where the SCD and related conditions are a public health issue.