A Monegasque delegation visited Dakar from May 8 to 10 for a working visit focusing on the fight against sickle cell disease (SCD) as part of the strengthening of cooperation between Monaco and Senegal.
The fight against sickle-cell anaemia is a flagship programme of the Monegasque Cooperation, the Monaco agency responsible for international aid and cooperation. This haemoglobin genetic disease on the African continent affects 10 percent of the Senegalese population.
Extending the 2014 Agreement between the two countries, Isabelle Rosabrunetto, Director General of the Department of External Relations and Cooperation, and HE Awa Marie Coll Seck, Minister of Health and Social Welfare of the Government of Senegal, signed an amendment for its renewal to support the policy to fight SCD in Senegal until 2020. The efforts already made have resulted in good progress.
On May 10, on the occasion of the African Sickle Cell Disease Day, Isabelle Rosabrunetto and Ibrahima Wone, Secretary General of the Ministry of Health, inaugurated the Ambulatory Care Unit for Children and Adolescents with Sickle Cell Disease at the Albert Royer Children’s Hospital in Dakar. This unit, built thanks to the joint efforts of the two states, will take care of almost 4,000 patients during the next three years.
At the same time, the “West Africa-Madagascar Sickle Cell Network”, set up since 2013 with the support of the Monegasque Cooperation, met in Dakar for workshops. The Network is composed of doctors and representatives of patient associations from six countries (Senegal, Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Madagascar).
Its objectives are to harmonise practices and better manage the know-how gained. To this end, tools and strategies for information, awareness and advocacy, as well as a guide for the management of sickle cell patients, are in the process of being developed.
READ ALSO
READ ALSO