Welcome to the session on sickle cell disease at the science summit at UNGA on Friday, 16 September 2022, in New York from 10:00 am to 12:30 pm EDT.
The session is titled "Scientific innovation to address sickle cell disease: From newborn screening to curative gene therapy in Africa".
This Session will focus on three critical areas of science: (a) Biomedical science to help better understand the nature of SCD in patients in Africa; (b) Implementation research to guide the effective delivery of interventions proven to save lives from SCD in Africa including newborn screening and distribution of existing medicines and interventions; (c) Partnerships in Research and development of new therapeutics . The focus will be on gene-based therapies that are designed to cure SCD.
Muhimbili University of Health & Allied Sciences (MUHAS), Tanzania, will convene this Session. MUHAS is part of SickleinAfrica, a multinational consortium comprising national-level stakeholders in Tanzania, Nigeria, Ghana, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Mali, with coordinating centres in Tanzania and South Africa. MUHAS is also part of Sickle CHARTA, A Consortium for Health, Advocacy, Research and Training fin Africa. The main goal is to reduce the burden of SCD through the generation and application of scientific knowledge, and conducting research in Africa.
Target audience
Multi-disciplinary stakeholders that are working to address SCD at country, regional, and global levels. Participants are anticipated to include patient advocates, clinicians, policy makers & other government officials, researchers, industry, NGOs, philanthropies, and multilateral health organizations
Physical Address in New York: Permanent Mission of the United Republic of Tanzania to the United Nations - 307 E 53rd St, New York, NY 10022, United States.