Letters

WORLD THALASSAEMIA DAY 2021

Forum on World Thalassemia Day 2021 • This forum was held virtually on 31 May 2021 in conjunction with the annual celebration of World Thalassemia Day on 8th of May. • Organised by the Malaysian Node of the Human Variome Project (MyHVP) in collaboration with the Institute for Medical Research (IMR), Kuala Lumpur, the forum aimed at providing knowledge and promoting public awareness on thalassaemia. • This forum was moderated by Dr. Mujahid Bakar from School of Health Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia and the panelists of the forum consisted of 3 experts of haematologists; Prof. Zarina Abdul Latiff (UKM), Dr. Ezalia Esa (Institute for Medical Research, Kuala Lumpur), Dr. Norafiza Mohd Yassin (Institute for Medical Research, Kuala Lumpur) and the President of Sabah Thalassaemia Society, Mr. Francis Mujim). • The forum was attended by approximately 280 participants.

A Forum on thalassaemia awareness in conjunction with National Independence Day at the Sabah state level

• This was the second virtual forum on thalassaemia organised by MyHVP in collaboration with Sabah Thalassemia Association, Sabah State Education Department, and Malaysian Genetic Association (PGM). • The theme of the forum was “Memerdekakan Pejuang Talasemia” with the aim of raising awareness and basic knowledge on thalassaemia among the patients, educators and public community. • The forum was participated by 9 secondary schools in Sabah with the total number of 800 participants. • This forum was moderated by Ms. Fazilah Suhud, representative from Sabah Thalassaemia Association. The panelist of this forum consist of 2 thalassaemia experts and 2 patients of thalassaemia.