Malaysian Elected To World Thalassaemia Body

ALOR STAR, Jan 15 (Bernama) -- The president of the Federation of Malaysian Thalassaemia Societies, Ramli Mohd Yunus, has been elected to the board of directors of the Thalassaemia International Federation (TIF).
A statement of the federation issued here Sunday said Ramli was elected from among delegates from more than 60 countries who attended the 4-day 10th general meeting of TIF that ended in Dubai on Jan 10.
Ramli is the first Malaysian to sit on the board of TIF, a non-governmental organisation based in Cyprus that carries out voluntary and welfare work to help thalassaemia patients around the world.
The others elected to the board were delegates from Cyprus, India, Greece, United States, Britain, Lebanon, Canada and Pakistan. TIF is headed by Panos Englezon from Cyprus.
Besides Ramli, Malaysia's 34-member delegation to the meeting included the Health Deputy Director-General Datuk Dr Shafie Ooyub.
The statement said the election of Ramli showed TIF and its member countries recognised Malaysia's role and effort in promoting care for people suffering from thalassaemia, a genetic blood disorder that can cause death, in the country and the region.
Malaysia launched a national thalassaemia prevention programme last year, making it among the first countries in the region to do so.