Realizing Effectiveness Across Continents with Hydroxyurea (REACH)

This project is being carried out in four African countries: DRC, Uganda, Kenya and Angola. Its objective is to follow 600 children with sickle cell disease (150 in each country) under 10 years of age for 4 years who are receiving Hydroxycarbamide, in order to assess the feasibility of a prospective study on Hydroxurea in the treatment of sickle cell disease in Sub-Saharan Africa.

At CEFA, the activities carried out were as follows:

• Monitor the safety of hydroxyurea treatment;

• To evaluate the beneficial effects of hydroxyurea;

• To study the effects of increasing doses of hydroxyurea on clinical and biological parameters.

During these two years (2014-2015), 120 patients were enrolled and regularly monitored. A face-to-face meeting between the teams took place in Uganda where several project stakeholders took stock of the progress of the project in the different countries. An article was published in an international journal on the specific and general objectives of the project.