For our last full day of fieldwork, we traveled three hours (each way) to Freetown. After nearly three full weeks learning about sickle cell, we felt that we had a pretty good understanding of the current diagnostic and treatment options available, and so our primary goal was a little bit different. With the hope of having a fully function device by next summer, we wanted to focus on networking with individuals who could help us move forward with a clinical trial.
With this goal in mind, we first visited Dr. Abu Bakarr Bah, a pediatrician at the Ola During Children’s hospital. He were connected with him by Dr. Sandra Lako, who recommended we speak to him because of his interest in sickle cell. He was very interested in our device, and was excited about the potential of working together in the future.
Next, we spoke with Dr. Gibrilla Fadlu-Deen, the Deputy Chief Medical Director for the University of Sierra Leone Teaching Hospitals Complex, and medical advisor to the Sickle Cell Society. He gave us a little bit more information on the Sickle Cell Society (including that they fund educational, radio campaigns and that the owner of electrophoresis lab is on their board and therefore helps them pay for some of the testing). As the head of a research hospital, we thought he might be a good partner for a future clinical trial. Although he was excited about the potential of our project, he told us that they had never piloted products at their hospital, or done a clinical trial like the one we were proposing.
Finally, we spoke to Faye Simmonds, Muhammed Hassan, and Gretchen Moran from eHealth Africa. ehealth Africa is a NGO with the mission “to build stronger health systems through the design and implementation of data-driven solutions that respond to local needs and provide underserved communities with tools to lead healthier lives.” We were recommended to speak with Faye Simmonds as she is currently working on implementing a pilot sickle cell screening program in Sierra Leone (alongside Dr. Jaja, whom we met with week 1). Additionally, she connected us with Muhammed Hassan and Gretchen Moran who were working on other sickle cell programs throughout Africa. This meeting was very beneficial as we learned about some of the challenges with other sickle cell screening programs currently being used, and were able to make connections with potential strong partners for the future. Additionally, they added us to a “Sickle Cell Sierra Leone” google group, so that we can stay up-to date on research and progress in the country.