A Memorandum of Understanding was signed in Colombo on September 4, 2006 between the Ministry of Healthcare and Nutrition of the Government of Sri Lanka under the Honourable Nimal Siripla De Silva and Hemoglobal signaled the commitment to improved thalassemia care, treatment, screening and education.

This Memorandum of Understanding provides a framework for both parties to work towards priorities expressed by the World Health Organization in accordance with its Declaration dated May 29, 2006 acknowledging thalassemia as “an unrecognized priority in public health.” Throughout Asia, thalassemia will soon present a burden of disease that is comparable to that imposed by malaria.[1]

The signing of the Memorandum of Understanding may be seen as a model of cooperation for thalassemia, an inherited blood disorder, which is the most common single gene disorder in the world, and one that disproportionately affects children in emerging countries. This Memorandum of Understanding unites a motivated Ministry of Health and experts from Hemoglobal in a common cause: "Saving lives...One Child at a time" - the lives of children affected by thalassemia.

[1] Weatherall, D.J., Akinyanju, O., Fucharoen, S., Olivieri, N., & Musgrove, P. (2006). Chapter 34: Inherited Disorders of Hemoglobin. In Disease Control Priorities in Developing Countries Second Edition (pp. 663-680). World Bank and Fogarty.