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DERMATOLOGY LISTEN TO OUR PODCAST on dermatology with Professor Ousmane Faye, Director of the Bamako Dermatology Hospital, and Ms Lalla Aïcha Diakité, Chair of the albinism charity Solidarité pour l’Insertion des Albinos au Mali (SIAM). EXPANDING ON ADVANCEMENTS to address treatment shortfalls Since 2015, the Fondation Pierre Fabre has been investing in the field of teledermatology in order to develop a robust, long- lasting intervention model. It also actively supports prevention and treatment of skin cancer in people with albinism, who are especially vulnerable and exposed to damage caused by the sun’s rays. IMPLEMENTING TELEDERMATOLOGY The Fondation Pierre Fabre supports three teledermatology initiatives, one each in Mali, Mauritania and Togo (see interview opposite). All are based on training health workers in the most common dermatoses and on remote data transmission (image transfer), making it possible to submit more complex cases to expert dermatologists, who can then make a diagnosis and determine an appropriate treatment. These projects show strong replication potential: in Mali, the initial Télédermali project has been scaled up nationally since 2018 with the objective being to cover Mali’s ten regions via the country’s 80 peripheral health centres. In 2019, 971 cases were managed using telediagnosis. In parallel, agreements have been signed with the ten regional health directors to have this technique become a lasting part of the country’s health system. On 26 and 27 June 2019, the Second African Teledermatology Conference in Lomé drafted a progress report on the Malian, Mauritanian and Togolese programmes and reviewed best practices for implementing them in other countries, such as Niger, where a fourth project is being studied. AIDING PEOPLE WITH ALBINISM The programmes the Foundation supports cover prevention – information, free distribution of sunscreen and hats – and treatment in five countries: Mali, Tanzania, Malawi, Togo and Burkina Faso, to which the Côte d’Ivoire should soon be added. In Mali and Tanzania, the first countries in which the programmes were implemented by the non-profit organisations SIAM (Solidarité pour l’insertion des albinos au Mali) and Standing Voice, the initiatives are entering a new, more inclusive phase with respect to geographic coverage and treatment (ophthalmology, psychosocial- professional monitoring). NEW SUPPORT PHASES In 2019, the Foundation paved the way for the formalisation of a new programme in Senegal: support for teaching dermatopathology at Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar. The Foundation will also help improve the Bamako Dermatology Hospital in Mali, so that it can be a Centre of Excellence in Dermatology for the sub-region. GOOD TO KNOW Albinism and marginalisation In sub-Saharan Africa, people with albinism face stigma; social, educational and professional exclusion; and sometimes life-threatening superstitions or beliefs. The awareness-raising initiatives implemented in the field are also designed to combat ignorance about the disease and related prejudices. Fondation Pierre Fabre – 48