Video from Dr. L.C. Ndufeiya-Kumasi | Nigeria

[00:00:00]Every year 300,000 babies with cle cell are born in Africa and post cancer affect over 74,000 men in subsaharan African annually. But genomics can change that. I am Dr. Loretakumasi.

[00:00:16]I have a PhD in medical biochemistry and iminochemistry from the department of biochemistry university of celebrating 2 years of paper I with you.

[00:00:26]So I'll be addressing the question, how do we integrate genomics into African healthcare? We make it practical and by that I mean we test what we can treat.

[00:00:39]See, we don't need whole genome sequencing in every clinic. What we need are low cost panels for cle cell detection and epigenetic biomarkers that can detect cancers early. In Africa, most babies with cle cell disease die before age five because we miss the diagnosis.

[00:01:01]But tools like the hemotype scan are changing that record. It's a simple dipstick test that tests hemoglobin X C and A in just 10 minutes. And why does it work for Africa? It's affordable.

[00:01:16]It's stable at room temperature and needs no lab, no fridge, no complex equipment. We can run this in maternity w and imunization clinics and we detect cell at birth. We can start prefill and ulia early and that alone cut mortality rate by over 70%. This is genomics in primary care saving lives today. Now let's talk about prostate cancer. It is the leading male cancer in subsaharan Africa with over 74,000 cases every year and most men are diagnosed too late for cure. Genomis gives us epigenetic biomarker for instance the metic scan that detect DNA mutilation early stage.

[00:02:02]So here the chemical changes that alter gene expression without changing DNA sequence itself are been screened. you as we know that keeping in mind that cancer cells carry these patterns long before symptoms appear. So if we validate medical scan for African population, we can screen men using blood or urine samples. It is less invasive and it can run in regional herbs. Early detection means creative treatment not late stage palative care.

[00:02:35]So how do we make this real across Africa? We do that in three ways. One, we deploy point of care panels like the hemotype scan that I've mentioned earlier in primary healthcare clinic and maternal child health programs. Two, we build regional hubs for test like the metis scan and connect them to district hospitals through sample transport and telegenomics. The third and the last method is by training clinicians and counelors to act on the result because a test without a treatment plan doesn't save lives. This is the hub and spoke model. It built expertise across the continent without duplicating extensive equipment in every hospital.

[00:03:22]Africa doesn't need to wait for perfect system. With affordable tools, smart integration and investment in people, genomics can reach patients now. So from newborn cle cell screening to early cancer detection, this is how we make precision medicine for the continent.

[00:03:42]Thank you and happy second anniversary to paper eye.