It gives us great pleasure to invite you to the 2nd Congress of the Global Action Network for Sickle Cell & Other Inherited Blood Disorders (GANSID). The goal of GANSID is to provide a forum for cross-fertilization of ideas, harnessing resources, and leveraging the advances made in some of the Inherited Blood Disorders for the benefit of the wider community of these under-served diseases. This should lead to improved access to therapies and enhanced survival and quality of life for our patients globally. Our target audience includes people with hereditary blood disorders, their caregivers, patient organizations, health system leaders, governments and policymakers, researchers, professionals academic societies, and industry partners addressing the needs of people with sickle cell disease (SCD) and other HBDs.

The Congress 2024 will address issues that were introduced at the inaugural Congress in 2023, and, in particular, focus on equitable access to new therapies. Some of the topics to be covered include:

Developments in Gene Therapy and Stem Cell Transplantation, Worldwide Registries for HBDs, Access to Specific Therapies (clotting factors in hemophilia, disease-modifying drugs in SCD, iron chelators in thalassemia major), and the need for the WHO to designate a day in the year to mark hereditary blood diseases. Another focus of the Congress will be a discussion of strategies for capacity building and how to organize effective regional advocacy for HBDs.

The Congress will be virtual, over two days. We have lined up an impressive panel of world-renowned speakers to deliver the plenary presentations. Apart from a physician track, there will also be a community track that will address the needs of patient organizations. There will be workshops by the different regional organizations to focus on their peculiar issues.

There is no doubt that the Congress will be of high educational value and there will be networking opportunities. We look forward to having you join us.