Join us for the 23rd lecture from the Logical Reasoning in Human Genetics series presented by Pr. Aimé Lumaka, Professor of Genetics and Pediatrics at the University of Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Clinical Consultant in the Center for Human Genetics of the University Hospitals of Liège (CHU Liège), Belgium, Chair of the Human Heredity & Health in Africa (H3Africa) Rare Diseases Working Group (H3A-RDWG), and Chair of the African Rare Diseases Initiative (ARDI). Pr. Lumaka, our first guest speaker from Central Africa, will be speaking about the African Rare Diseases Initiative (ARDI) project that aims to advance genomic research through rare diseases research in Africa. ?
About 3.5–5.9% of the world population could be affected by a rare disease, corresponding proportionally to 3.79–6.39 million people in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The distribution of rare diseases is not uniform across countries or sub-populations. In addition, clinical presentation of the same syndrome may be influenced by ethnic background and vary from one ethnic group to another. This uneven distribution and influence of ethnicity suggest that each country or region should determine the frequency, distribution, and clinical profile of rare diseases within its borders and develop a prevention, screening, management, and advocacy plan.
Through the African Rare Diseases Initiative (ARDI) project, Pr. Lumaka and his team plan to:
- Develop rare disease infrastructure in Africa (network and tools)
- Capacitate African scientists for rare diseases (clinics and data analysis)
- Investigate underlying causes of rare diseases in 300 probands recruited in DR Congo.
Join us on Zoom to learn about the groundbreaking work they are doing in Africa. Register here.
This lecture is in collaboration with Institut Pasteur de Tunis and Columbia Global Centers | Nairobi.
