Although sickle cell disease is the most prevalent genetic disease in the world with 50 million carriers, mainly in the countries of the tropical belt, very few doctors and nurses are trained to treat it.

The common guide for the management of sickle cell disease in Africa is the result of a close collaboration with the referring doctors and the patient associations of the sickle cell network of the Monegasque Cooperation, operating in Burkina Faso, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Senegal.

A collection of the know-how and good practices of long-standing doctors working against this disease, this guide is a practical tool for all practitioners, whether in urban hospitals or rural health centres.

Each of the six ministries has drafted an introductory word for the edition of the guide to be distributed in their own country, commending the initiative and the remarkable progress in the fight against the disease.

Monaco’s Direction of International Cooperation, the firm STEPS Consulting, which coordinated the work over three years, and the contributing doctors will make an evaluation of the use of the guide and its impact on those affected.

The fight against sickle cell disease has been a flagship programme of the Monegasque cooperation for more than 10 years. It is based on three pillars: caring, training and creating a dynamic network for treatment.

PHOTO: Official delivery of the guide by Anne Poyard-Vatrican, Assistant Director of International Cooperation to Professor Mamy Lalatiana Andriamanarivo, Minister of Health of Madagascar, in the presence of Professor Olivat Rakoto Alson and Pascale Jeannot, President of the NGO ‘Fight Against Sickle Cell Disease’ in Madagascar. © DCI