Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology Article Wins Elsevier Atlas Award

The recent Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (JACI) article “Allergy and immunology in Africa: Challenges and unmet needs” has won the Elsevier Atlas Award for the November 2017 issue.

The Atlas Award recognizes scientific contributions that have the potential to impact global health significantly. The paper was nominated out of thousands of articles published each month from over 2,500 Elsevier journals.

“It is truly an honor and joy to be granted the Elsevier Atlas Award for our article on allergy and immunology in Africa,” said author Elham M. Hossny, MD, PhD, FAAAAI.

Hossny, along with fellow authors Yehia M. El-Gamal, MD, PhD, FAAAAI; Zeinab A. El-Sayed, MD, PhD; and Shereen M. Reda, MD, PhD, hope that the visibility of this article will draw global attention towards promoting the specialty in Africa, optimistically termed ‘the continent of the future.’

“Being motivated by the expanding burden of allergy and immunodeficiency in our continent, the co-authors and I tried to outline the challenges and unmet needs that have to be faced,” said Hossny. “The tremendous increase in allergy in Africa cannot simply be explained by the change in public hygiene as there are many ‘pre-hygiene’ situations across the continent and still there is growing incidence of allergic diseases.”

There are few allergy specialists on the continent because of the prevailing healthcare infrastructure or the lack of recognition of allergy as a clinical specialty. This phenomenon is described by the World Health Organization as a knowledge/practice gap.

“Many African countries are currently affected by conflict and fragility which poses an indirect impact on healthcare proficiency. In order for African allergists and immunologists to provide better care for their patients and be able to perform cutting-edge research in the field, they need to be empowered by motivated governments, dedicated funds and compassionate scientific partnership.”

Visit the JACI’s website to read the full article.