Connecting the African continent to drive a unified voice this World MS Day

World MS Day, officially marked on 30 May, aims to bring the global Multiple Sclerosis (MS) community together by sharing stories, raising awareness, and reducing stigma, for everyone affected by the disease. MS is a chronic, immune-mediated disease of the central nervous system that leads to neurological symptoms and disability, affecting 1 out of every 3000 people in the world.

While it’s the most common non-traumatic cause of neurological disability in young adults, it’s a disease that is often misunderstood by both patients and providers, largely because the symptoms often mimic other conditions. MS symptoms can slowly appear or creep up on you suddenly. They can be scary and disorienting – that’s why we need increased awareness and education about the disease.

The theme for World MS Day is connections – how building connections for the community and self is important to make people affected by the disease feel less lonely and socially isolated.

Local Patient Organisation Groups are also getting involved to further raise awareness, challenge social barriers and stigma, to celebrate support networks and champion self-care.

They have held numerous events, which include a video in partnership with The Multiple Sclerosis International Federation (MSIF).

By bringing about massive awareness to reach all people with MS, clinicians and therapists are creating an inclusive support structure and platform to address the burning issues of access to treatment, advocacy, epidemiology and financial support to all people living with this debilitating and incurable disease to never lose hope or feel alone –as we are stronger together.

Roche is working across Africa to build MS care from the ground up, starting with identifying data gaps, launching clinical trials to understand how MS affects a typical African patient, and developing data registries to analyse these insights. Additionally, Roche is working with patient organisations to increase awareness and reduce stigma.

The organisation is proudly committed to creating awareness of MS through collaboration with various Patient Organisations across the region. It is important to speak with a consistent, unified voice in raising awareness of the signs and symptoms of MS and reduce the stigma associated with MS. Roche is proud to walk the steps with all those living with MS.

About Roche

Founded in 1896 in Basel, Switzerland, as one of the first industrial manufacturers of branded medicines, Roche has grown into the world’s largest biotechnology company and the global leader in in-vitro diagnostics. The company pursues scientific excellence to discover and develop medicines and diagnostics for improving and saving the lives of people around the world.

We are a pioneer in personalised healthcare and want to further transform how healthcare is delivered to have an even greater impact. To provide the best care for each person, we partner with many stakeholders and combine our strengths in Diagnostics and Pharma with data insights from clinical practice.

In recognising our endeavour to pursue a long-term perspective in all we do, Roche has been named one of the most sustainable companies in the pharmaceuticals’ industry by the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices for the thirteenth consecutive year. This distinction also reflects our efforts to improve access to healthcare together with local partners in every country we work.

Genentech, in the United States, is a wholly-owned member of the Roche Group. Roche is the majority shareholder in Chugai Pharmaceutical, Japan.