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DRÉPA-GABON

President's Message

Giving birth to a child is very often a happy event that fills parents with joy. It helps couples, families and others build ties and perpetuate human race. That special event is also a proof of our commitment to building and participating to the human society by being responsible for another human being and above all giving life. However, our commitment to our child takes a different level of responsibility, disappointment and care when parents come to find out that their children suffer from a disease and unlikely there are not drugs available to cure it. In spite of the love, commitment and our promise to stand by our children, learning your child’s Sickle-cell status will leave the majority of parents powerless with no other option than watching their children dying due general gradual health degradations. This long and painful watch can take ages.

We can agree that this is a tragic situation four parents to live with. Unfortunately this is the life of thousands of children and parents around the world and particularly in Gabon. Their difficulties are not only emotional and health questions related but also financial and material because most of parents are from critically low incomes families.

Gabon, like many countries in Africa, is a third world country where economic hardship often leads to poverty, analphabetism, lack of government efforts to implement drug, food programs and bring answers to people living with Sickle-cell anemia or affected families.

Gabon is geographically located in one of the world area where the rate of people living with Sickle-cell anemia is alarming and increasing as the country total population is growing up every year.

Indeed, the ignorance due to analphabetism, the lack of financial means, lack of government means and awareness programs, make people perceived the Sickle-cell anemia as a disease, a taboo subject parents should be ashamed of. This is even worse when families or children living with that disease believe on curses as causes and reasons of their health problems.

Sickle-cell anemia is simply misunderstood in Gabon (as it is the case in the other countries in Sub-Sahara). Serious efforts are still be made in order to help local populations understand the disease.

We believe that if worked and organized properly, a lot of programs and help actions will considerably help families understand the Sickle-cell anemia and others health issues related to that disease. That will also help them benefit from available solutions.

We are conscious that there is no treatment available to cure Sickle-shaped anemia. However, scientific projections and current researches on the disease make it possible to nourish a justified hope. Better, if managed with proper solutions and techniques, people can increase their chance to have more control and access to solutions to fight against the Sickle-cell anemia and all its cultural and social aspects.

DRÉPA-GABON is a bridge between people living with Sickle-cell and organizations or individual with the need to bring any type of contribution that can eradicate, reduce or fight against Sickle-cell worldwide especially in Gabon. We know that it is an immense task. That is why we believe that your support and collaboration is important to us and we will not succeed without it.

Thank you,

Best Regards,

President

Martin, AKOUANGOU

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