Davos 2019 - Press Conference: New public-private partnership to address sickle cell disease..
Channel: World Economic Forum
Date: 2019-02-05

Between 2010 and 2050, around 14 million newborns will be affected by sickle cell disease (SCD), an inherited, chronic blood disorder, which can cause severe pain, stroke, organ failure, and other complications, including death. 82% of these will be in sub-Saharan Africa. 
While simple public health measures such as newborn screening, vaccinations, and early interventions have been proven to greatly improve childhood survival in several countries, SCD continues to be a major global public health issue. It remains a major killer of infants and children in the developing world, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. Approximately 1000 children are born with SCD in Africa every day, and an estimated 50–90 percent of them will die before their fifth birthday. 
Ghana, together with the Ghana Sickle Cell Foundation and Novartis are therefore launching a partnership to help improve and extend the lives of SCD patients in Ghana.

Speakers:
· Mahamudu Bawumia, Vice-President of Ghana.
· Petra Laux, Head, Public Affairs Policy; Head, Advocacy, North America, Novartis International, Switzerland.
· Vasant Narasimhan, Chief Executive Officer, Novartis, Switzerland.

Moderator:
· Georg Schmitt, Head of Corporate Affairs, World Economic Forum.

http://www.weforum.org/