Within one of Qatar Foundation (QF)’s international partner universities, a specialised group of experts is working to make the region more resilient against the ravages of infection diseases – including hepatitis.
The Infectious Disease Epidemiology Group (IDEG) at Weill Cornell Medicine – Qatar (WCM-Q) has been designated as a World Health Organisation (WHO) Collaborating Centre for Infectious Disease Epidemiology Analytics. It is the first of its kind in the Eastern Mediterranean Region, which consists of 22 countries and has a population of nearly 583mn people.
The WHO designation represents a landmark for the IDEG, which was established a little over a decade ago. Led by Prof Laith Abu-Raddad, professor of Infectious Disease Epidemiology at WCM-Q, the group has since carried out over 100 studies on the epidemiology of viral hepatitis, HIV/Aids and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) in the region. The studies – most of which were funded by Qatar National Research Fund, a member of Qatar Foundation – have played a key role in improving the understanding of the epidemiology of these diseases.
“Achieving WHO collaborating centre status is the fruit of relentless work done by the IDEG over the past decade,” said Prof Abu-Raddad.
“This designation allows us to become a formal partner of an international collaborative network carrying out activities in support of WHO’s public health mission and programmes, and allows us to make a real tangible impact in the region’s fight against infectious diseases.”
The centre’s short-term goal is to focus specifically on viral hepatitis, HIV/Aids and STDs.
Known as the ‘silent killer’ disease, viral hepatitis is a disease that causes inflammation of the liver leading to an array of complications such as liver cancer and liver cirrhosis. It is a major public health burden and a leading cause of death globally, a fact that is being emphasised on World Hepatitis Day, which takes place on July 28 every year. It is also the fifth leading cause of death in the Eastern Mediterranean Region, which is more severely affected by hepatitis than any other region in the world.
“The biggest challenge with viral hepatitis is that most people that contract it are unaware of it, which means they are also likely to infect others without realising it,” said Prof Abu-Raddad.
“The first step to reducing its incidence is to identify its carriers. For the past 10 years, we have been doing mapping in different countries to facilitate a comprehensive understanding of viral hepatitis in the region and to assess the geographic variation in prevalence and treatment needs. These findings are then used to prioritise testing of heavily affected regions and to formulate localised intervention programmes.
“With the Eastern Mediterranean Region being the most severely affected region, there is no doubt we have a mammoth task ahead of us, but we are positive we will play a key role in supporting WHO in achieving its vision for a hepatitis-free world by 2030.”
The long-term goal of the centre is to be a resource and reference point for the region’s policymakers to ensure that public health policy and programmes are informed by rigorous science. “This region is going through a major demographic transition and difficult economic conditions,” Prof Abu-Raddad said.
This centre will also offer students an invaluable opportunity to participate in meaningful practice-based research projects and possibly even be involved with WHO in implementing some of their programmes.
Dr Ahmed al-Mandhari, WHO regional director for the Eastern Mediterranean, said: “Collaborating centres such as IDEG are our critical partners in our endeavour to achieve our vision for the region, ‘Vision 2023’, with its goal of ‘Health for All, by All’.
“I would like to commend the high-level political support by Qatar and the farsighted leadership of the Qatar Foundation and the Ministry of Public Health, which have made these strategic partnerships and investments for global health possible.”
