KOTA KINABALU: An alliance of three organisations has agreed to develop a program to raise public awareness of Thalassemia in Sabah
The three organisations are: The Universiti Malaysia Sabah-United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UMS-Unicef) Communication for Development (C4D) Research Unit, the Sabah Council of Social Services (MPMS) and the Sabah Thalassemia Society.
All three organisations agreed to collaborate for one year on the cause by signing a letter of intent (LOI) on Wednesday (Oct 23) at the Sabah International Convention Centre.
“We view this collaboration positively, particularly in terms of research. We are committed to ensuring that the research findings are shared with all involved organisations,” said UMS-Unicef C4D Research Unit head, Dr Latif Lai.
He added that Thalassemia incidences are increasing in Sabah, and the cost for lifetime treatment can reach RM3mil per patient.
The UMS Social Sciences and Humanities Faculty Dean, Prof Dr Asmady Idris (representing the UMS-Unicef C4D Research Unit); Sabah General Welfare Services Department director, Jais Asri (representing MPMS) and Thalassemia Society president Francis Mujim were present at the event.
The UNICEF Programme Specialist for Sabah, Dr Elaine Kong, and MPMS Executive Secretary Joeanne Lee were also present.
