Dr. Radja Badji
Doha, Qatar: A recent study has shown that only about 0.17 percent of people in published genomic studies are of Arab ancestry, with 88 percent being of European ancestry. This hinders the progress of precision medicine worldwide, as people of European origin represent a minority among the global population.
Yet, at the same time, they constitute the largest percentage of human genome research, which directly affects understanding of prevalent diseases, the methodology for developing treatments, the pharmaceutical industry, and innovative ways to prevent diseases.
This topic will be among the healthcare issues that come into focus when the World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH), Qatar Foundation’s (QF) global health initiative, hosts host its seventh edition in Doha on November 13 and 14 2024. The theme of this year’s summit is ‘Humanizing Health: Conflict, Equity and Resilience’, and two of its four tracks are the health of vulnerable and minority populations and system-level innovation and change.
Precision medicine is one of the main fields that will contribute to system-level innovation and change, in addition to the role it plays in highlighting the health of minorities who are not included in research, especially genomic studies.
Speaking about the dominant representation of Western genomes, Dr. Radja Badji, Translational Genomics Manager at QF’s Qatar Precision Health Institute (QPHI), said: “Historically, genomic research and major biobanks were established in Western countries where there was substantial early investment in genetic research infrastructure. This led to easier access to research funding and a more established framework for collecting and utilizing genomic data.”
However, the tide is changing. In the past decade, several Arab countries including Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, and Jordan have set up national genome programs. Qatar, in particular, has been at the forefront in ensuring Arab genomes are better represented in global genomic databases.
Commenting on QPHI’s ongoing efforts in bridging the diversity gap in genomics, Dr. Badji said: “QPHI, through its Qatar Biobank and Qatar Genome Program, is strategically positioned to address these imbalances by focusing on recruiting a diverse participant base within Qatar. QPHI also emphasizes the integration of genomic research into national health strategies, which encourages diverse population participation”.
