Genomics research in Africa: implications for disease diagnosis, treatment and drug development: proceedings of the 5th annual meeting of the African Society of Human Genetics

This paper presents the proceedings of the 5th Annual Meeting of the African Society of Human Genetics, which took place in Cairo, Egypt, on 3rd-5th November 2007. The meeting provided a much needed forum for the development of research networks and collaborations for all who are interested in the field of ‘genetics in Africa’ in its broadest sense. The meeting also presented an opportunity for the Society to debate the major issues in the field and to develop a long term strategy towards achieving the goals of the Society. The most exciting and ambitious outcome of the meeting was the launch of the African Genome Project. The meeting was held in conjunction with the First Annual Meeting of the Division of Human Genetics and Genome Research and the National Society of Human Genetics of Egypt. The conference theme was ‘Genomics Research in Africa: Implications for Disease Diagnosis, Treatment and Drug Development’. Over 200 participants (including clinicians, geneticists, statisticians, bioinformaticians and social scientists) attended from 28 countries, 16 of which are in Africa.