The African Congress on Sickle Cell Disease is now calling for proposals from the global sickle cell community to help shape a powerful program for the next Congress, which will be held Virtually, on 25th May – 29th May 2021. Don’t miss this opportunity to contribute and demonstrate the power of collective reasoning, pioneering thinking and inspiring initiatives to a diverse regional and global audience.
The Congress program is drawn from the contribution of the sickle cell community. This year the Program Committee is accepting six types of contributions to the ACSCD program (See Submissions Type below) in line with the six tracks of the Congress.
The Congress theme: Working to Overcome Sickle Cell Disease – What Next?” examines the current state of sickle cell disease in the region and globally and sets the tone of the Congress as a platform for sickle cell control and SCD communities to advance in the right direction
We request that you submit your application by no later than 19 March 2021 (23:59 WAT). The Program Committee will only consider submissions received via this platform. Instructions on how to submit are contained within each submission type below.
Whether you are an experienced haematologist, a dedicated SCD researcher, an inspirational caregiver, a committed volunteer or advocate representing a patient support group, an employee of a sickle cell society or sickle cell support organization, a fundraiser or the General Director of a hospital, get involved, raise your voice, submit a proposal and support us in shaping a comprehensive and inspiring Congress Program.
Follow the submission types below to see how you can participate in the program.
Submissions deadline: midnight WAT Friday, 19 March 2021
Main Congress Theme
“Working To Overcome Sickle Cell Disease – What Next?”
Following up on 2019´s focus on “Overcoming Sickle Cell Disease – Power of the Collective Voice”, Africa has seen steady increase in cross-border collaborations and projects across the region and beyond. The theme of the 2nd African Congress on Sickle Cell Disease will review the current state of SCD and explore future perspectives with challenges and priorities to overcoming sickle cell disease at the national, regional and global level. The congress will be both scientific and technical, with focus dialogues, speeches and interactive sessions featuring government officials, private sector and sickle cell experts, advocates, patient and caregivers engaged in exploring innovative ways to address the challenges and further sickle cell control.
The year 2020 marked the cycle end of The WHO African Region Sickle Cell Strategy 2010 -2020 which was adopted by the Sixtieth session of the WHO Regional Committee for Africa (RC60). In August 2020, the Seventieth session of the Regional Committee held a virtual session to examine the implementation of the sickle cell strategy in Africa, acknowledging progresses made, identifying issues and challenges and proffering recommendations for necessary next steps.
Against this background, the call for ACSCD 2021 “Working To Overcome Sickle Cell Disease – What Next?” invites presenters to put these developments into perspective. We specifically invite submissions that address structural, emerging and topical issues and causes for current challenges together with the innovative ideas, initiatives and recommendations for effective sickle cell prevention and control.
The ACSCD 2021 program will be made up of diverse presentations, organised to stimulate dialogue around the Congress Theme, the Program Tracks and the WHO African Region Sickle Cell Strategy report.
Program Tracks:
Content is structured across 5 key tracks that allow attendees to explore the diverse topics addressed during the congress, with an additional track that will explore the effects of Covid-19 on sickle cell disease. Submissions should explicitly relate to one or more of the following congress tracks:
- Sickle Cell Prevention – Advancing Newborn Screening & Early Detection
- Sickle Cell Diagnosis, Complications and Treatment – Addressing barriers & Inequality in Sickle Cell Care
- Maximizing Quality of Life – Empowering Patients & Caregivers
- Advocacy, Policies and Enabling Sustainable Outcomes of Healthcare Systems
- Cross-sector Partnering and Building Capacities – Raising funds & Attracting Resources
- Covid-19 and Sickle Cell Disease – What Do We Know
Submissions Type
Research Abstracts
ACSCD 2021 welcomes research work submissions for consideration as an oral presentation, rapid-fire oral or ePoster sessions and Focus hubs created within the center of the exhibition area. Your work should include the primary 4 sections normally requested of an abstract, ie aims, methods, results and conclusions.
Please read the Call for Abstracts for details.
Word count: 1,000 to 2,500 words.
More details on submitting HERE
Sessions & Workshops
ACSCD invites proposals for sessions, symposium and workshops from the global sickle cell community that are aligned with the six program tracks to help shape a powerful, inclusive program at the Congress this year.
Please read the Call for Sessions for guidelines on submitting a proposal that is aligned with the requirements to fit in the congress program.
Word count: 1,000 to 2,500 words.
More details on submitting HERE.
Edutainment Proposals
The Congress will gather a multi-discipline and diverse global audience, and welcome creative concepts of Virtual Edutainment that highlight key messages in sickle cell. Those who wish to propose a ‘virtual edutainment’ are encouraged to submit their concept including details of duration and format.
Word count: 1,000 to 2,500 words.
Please send all proposal as MS Word or PDF attachments to submissions@acscd.org.
Ideas, Pitches, Campaigns & Policy Discussion, Synopsis
We are currently interested in receiving submissions of synopsis of an original idea, pitch or campaign related to sickle cell control. Special attention will be paid to submissions on “Prevention, Advocacy and Policy”. There will be a variety of positions in the program where the best of these can be presented orally. See African Cafe and Community Dialogues.
Word count: 1,000 to 2,500 words.
Please send all submissions as MS Word or PDF attachments to submissions@acscd.org.
Films & Photographs
A narrative told in a single film or collection of photographs will be an educative and exciting addition to the Congress program. We are currently interested in short films and narrative photography that highlight sickle cell, especially in the African Context and the broader underserved communities.
To feature during the congress, send at least seven photographs from the project as an attachment to submissions@acscd.org. For Video submissions, upload to a cloud storage and provide link in your email body.