Dear Sickle Cell Disease Community,

The Sickle Cell Support Society of Nigeria (SCSSN) and the Global Sickle Cell Disease Network (GSCDN) are immensely pleased to announce that the 5th Global Congress on Sickle Cell Disease will convene in Abuja, Nigeria  from June 3 - 6, 2025. We are delighted that the Congress is returning to Africa fifteen years after the very first Congress was held in Accra, Ghana in 2010. Nigeria, which  shoulders the heaviest burden of SCD in the world is a fitting host for this important Congress.

Expected to gather over 600 delegates around the theme: “Working Together to Reduce the Burden of sickle Cell Disease: Leaving No One Behind”, the  Congress is set to be one of the most momentous events in the effort to address SCD globally. It will bring together healthcare professionals, researchers, patients, families/caregivers, advocates, industry leaders, and policymakers from across the world.

A state-of-the-art scientific program has been designed to deliver a high-impact, patient-focused agenda drawing from leading global experts on SCD covering basic/translational science, clinical, public health, and implementation science, psychosocial, advocacy, and policy making. While actively engaging in the recent progress being made to find new disease-modifying and “curative” therapies, we need to double efforts to develop policies and systems changes to implement effective, affordable, and scalable interventions that reach people with SCD wherever they live, leaving no one behind.

We look forward to welcoming you to Abuja, the beautiful, purpose-built capital of Nigeria.

Isaac Odame and Obiageli Nnodu

Congress Co-Chairs