Youth For Human Rights International & Drepa-Hope Inc. Host Sickle Cell Panel

WASHINGTON - May 5, 2016 - PRLog -- On Thursday evening, the nonprofits Youth for Human Rights International and Drepa-Hope Inc., hosted an evening roundtable and panel discussion on "What can we do to help with sickle cell disease here and in Africa" at the Church of Scientology National Affairs Office.  Headlined by Dr. Patricia Oneal, Co-Director of the Howard University Sickle Cell Disease Center, the panel also featured Drepa-Hope Inc. Vice President, Mr. Alain Ghonda; Miss Sierra Leone Culture USA, Fatmata Bangura; and Youth for Human Rights representative, Washington, D.C., Ms. Erica Rodgers. Beth Akiyama, Executive Director of the Church of Scientology National Affairs Office introduced the event and moderated the eye-opening discussion.

Sickle cell disease is growing worldwide. Already one of the most common genetic diseases in the world affecting millions of people, it is expected to reach epidemic status by the year 2026, according to Dr. Oneal. A study in the Mar-Apr 2013 Public Health Reports journal found that although the child mortality rate has been brought down in the United States over the last 30 years, adult mortality appears to have increased.  And in developing countries, especially Africa, child mortality can reach up to 90% due to lack of access to healthcare according to the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

The nonprofit Drepa-Hope has been working to raise awareness of this disease, increase access to healthcare, including access to screening for the disease, and to support clinical research on sickle cell in the United States, France and in Africa, predominantly in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Early screening for the disease can help prevent more serious complications and allow for both supportive and preventive actions to be taken to better manage the disease.  As Vice-President of Drepa-Hope, Mr. Ghonda spearheads many of those activities both here and in Africa.  With two daughters affected, and one holding the title for most emergency room visits to Children's Hospital, he has intimate knowledge of this disease.

Miss Sierra Leone Culture USA, Fatmata Bangura, has made raising awareness of sickle cell her pageant platform.  She is launching the nonprofit, MoCell - the "Mo" in honor of her son, Mohammed, who has sickle cell, and the idea of encouraging the creation of more healthy blood cells.  MoCell aims to educate children in schools about sickle cell disease in part for their own edification and in part so they can be more educated peers for those affected children who have to navigate a different type of childhood, given the sometimes daily medical challenges they can face.

Article 27 of the United Nation's Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that, "Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits."  It is this last concept, scientific advancement and its benefits, that YHRI wishes to bring awareness to in order to support all efforts to fight sickle cell disease and bring about a better quality of life and a cure for this disease.  YHRI has had chapters in many African countries, including a chapter in the Democratic Republic of Congo for the last eight years, which is keenly aware of the severity of sickle cell disease in Sub-Saharan Africa, and first conceptualized this event.

Howard University's Center for Sickle Cell Disease was founded by the late Dr. Roland B. Scott in 1971 to address the needs of patients and families in the Washington Metropolitan area affected by sickle cell disease.  The Center offers free screenings and educational seminars.  For more information, please contact their community outreach office.

Drepa-Hope Inc. is a nonprofit with activities in the United States, France and the Democratic Republic of Congo.  The purpose of Drepa-Hope is to raise awareness of sickle cell disease both with the general public and with those affected by the disease with an emphasis on early screening for the disease, improving access to healthcare for those with sickle cell, assisting, accompanying, supporting and facilitating clinical research and developing an insurance plan for those with sickle cell, both here and in the Democratic Republic of Congo. "Drepa" is short for the French term for sickle cell disease, "drepanocytose".

Youth for Human Rights International (YHRI) is a nonprofit organization founded in 2001 by Dr. Mary Shuttleworth, an educator born and raised in apartheid South Africa, where she witnessed firsthand the devastating effects of discrimination and the lack of basic human rights. The purpose of YHRI is to teach youth about human rights, specifically the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and inspire them to become advocates for tolerance and peace.  YHRI accomplishes this through simple yet empowering, high-quality human rights education materials for youth, teachers and officials in 17 languages.