7K rare diseases have no treatment: Chas Hountra

CAIRO - 17 March 2019: Around 350 million people suffer from more than 7,000 diseases worldwide, said Professor of Translational Medicine in the Nuffield Department of Clinical Medicine Chas Hountra on Sunday.


People in the world, in Africa, in the region and in Egypt are facing major challenges; but in health care, they are in need ofnew medicine for cancer, and diabetes as well as a new generation of antibiotics, he said in the "Future of Scientific Research and Health Care" session at the Arab-African Youth Platform.

Those patients include children under the age of 5who have no treatment as some diseases could take 5 years to be diagnosed, he said, adding that 95 percent of those patients found no cure.

Hountrahighlighted the human power of the African countries that could change the world. He expressed his hope that the world can find more people like Steve Jobs and Bill Gates who changed the world.

Individuals can change the world and Egypt has many of those individuals, he said, continuing that problems cannot be solved individually so cooperationwith universities, businesses, decision makers, lawmakers, governorates and other countries is necessary. "The only way to tackle big problems is through win-win partnerships."

Hountrais an associate member of the Department of Pharmacology at the University of Oxford and a visiting professor in neuroscience and mental health at the Imperial College, London, according to Nuffield Department of Medicine official website.

The Arab and African Youth platform in Aswan is one of the biggest activities organized by the World youth Forum under the auspices of President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi.
The two-day event sheds light on certain topics such as the future of scientific research and health care, the impact of advanced technology and innovation in Africa and the Arab region.