Workshop
Nutritional
Rickets
in Nigerian Children:
The Way Forward
|
Objectives
 |
To
present advances in research and treatment of nutritional rickets in
Nigeria. |
|
To
promote interaction and collaboration among Nigerian and international
investigators. |
|
To
implement research findings related to treatment and prevention of
rickets into clinical practice. |
|
To
stimulate further research on nutritional rickets in Nigeria. |
Severe
leg deformities caused
by nutritional rickets
X-ray of bones affected by
rickets |
May
4, 2002
One
of Tom’s responsibilities at the university hospital is to conduct
research. His research into the disease of nutritional rickets, a
crippling affliction of the bones of children, has contributed to better
ways of treating the disease and provides practical research exposure
for Nigerian doctors.
Nutritional
rickets, which causes softening of the bones and bending of the legs,
afflicts tens of thousands of Nigerian children.
Several teams of researchers in different parts of Nigeria have
studied the disease over the last ten years, leading to many exciting new
developments in our understanding of rickets in Nigerian children.
Tom recently
coordinated a 3-day workshop in Abuja, Nigeria that brought together 25 researchers
working on rickets and calcium nutrition in Nigeria. We hope to tackle the
problem of rickets on a national level in order to prevent the burden of
disability it causes. International
researchers active in the field came from Mayo Clinic, Cambridge,
Johannesburg, and The Gambia and contributed immensely to the discussion.
This broad-based collection of researchers formed the Working Group
on
Nutritional Rickets in Nigeria.
The group plans to undertake a national survey to determine the
magnitude of the problem of rickets and identify areas where it is
prevalent.
We
are grateful for your partnership that makes helping Nigerian children
possible.
Tom
& Rosie Thacher |
