COVID-19: Sanofi to host 2-day virtual summit for healthcare practitioners

June 09 00:59 2020 by The Ajasa News Print This Article

By Benjamin Omoike, Lagos

Sanofi, a global biopharmaceutical company, is set to host a live virtual scientific and educational summit where healthcare practitioners from Nigeria and Ghana will update their knowledge about evolving issues in patient care, in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dedicated scientific sessions will provide new insight on treatment of COVID-19 patients, who live with other disease conditions. 

The two-day summit will include a plenary session on the first day, June 10, 2020 at 14:00 WAT and clinical breakout sessions on the second day, June 11, 2020 at 14:00 WAT and 15:30. Attendance is open only to healthcare professionals through registration. The capacity building session will accommodate up to 10,000 doctors, pharmacists, nurses and other health practitioners in Nigeria and Ghana. 

Speaking during the buildup to the summit, Folake Odediran, General Manager, General Medicines, Nigeria & Ghana and Country Lead, Nigeria stated that “Sanofi has been at the forefront of initiatives that could have both immediate and lasting impact in the fight against COVID-19. As a global healthcare leader, Sanofi will continually support healthcare practitioners with up-to-date knowledge to effectively manage patients with improved outcomes. This is in line with our purpose of Empowering Life.” 

The plenary session will focus discussions on the journey so far in the fight against COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria and Ghana and examine challenges and future prospects in both countries. It will also provide update on the global collaborative efforts at finding a treatment for the disease, as exemplified by Sanofi.

The clinical breakout meeting, which will comprise of eleven separate scientific sessions each of one-hour duration, will hold in two parts. Each session will focus on a specific healthcare or disease management topic and healthcare practitioners will be able to attend a session of their choice. Each session will be followed by a Q&A session moderated by healthcare experts. 

During the first part, which will start at 14:00 WAT, healthcare experts will lead discussions on six topics related to COVID-19 infections. This includes clinical management of neonates and young children, hypertension, diabetes, pneumonia, immunisation as well as clinical and community pharmacy practice. The second part will start at 15:30 WAT and will examine peculiarities and challenges of managing diabetes in hospitalised 

patients, complications of venous thrombo-embolism (VTE) in hospitalized patients, updates on roles of ACE-inhibitors and ARBs in COVID-19 patients with hypertension, COVID-19 and liver health and challenges and prospects of cancer chemotherapy in COVID-19 patients. 

Some of the health experts and facilitators who will feature during the summit include Dr. Chinwe Ochu (NCDC, Abuja), Dr.Asiedu-Bekoe, Franklin (Ghana Health Service), Dr. Marie Sebille (Global Medical, Sanofi), Prof. Olufemi Fasanmade (Consultant Endocrinologist, LUTH, Lagos), Prof. Sunday Adewuyi (Consultant Radio-oncologist, ABUTH, Zaria), Prof. Amam Mbakwem (Consultant Cardiologist, LUTH, Lagos), Dr. (Pharm) Modupe Oyawole (Clinical Pharmacist and Deputy Director of Pharmacy, LASUTH, Lagos) and Dr. Yacoba Atiase (Consultant Endocrinologist, KBTH, Ghana).