Episode 4  “2006: Expanding the fight against sickle-cell disease”

05/07/2019

Sickle-cell disease is a genetic blood disease that affects 250,000 newborns annually in sub-Saharan Africa. If left untreated, half of children with the disease die before the age of five.

Since 2006, the Foundation has made fighting sickle-cell disease one of its priorities and is now one of the leading actors in this fight in the Global South. After spearheading an initiative to create a referral center, the Sickle-cell Disease Research and Control Center in Mali, the Foundation now operates more than 10 programmes to improve sickle-cell treatment, screening and research in eight African countries, Haiti and Madagascar. In this podcast, we will hear from Professor Gil Tchernia, a haematologist, Professor Marc Gentilini, a specialist in infectious and tropical diseases – both members of the Foundation’s Scientific Committee –, and Professor Dapa Diallo, haematologist and Director of the Sickle-cell Disease Research and Control Center.