Vice President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, Leyla Aliyeva, to Receive High Award from the Children’s Cancer and Blood Fund in New York

Vice President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and founder of the International Dialogue for Environmental Action (IDEA) campaign, Leyla Aliyeva, is on a visit to New York at the invitation of the Children’s Cancer and Blood Fund (CCBF) in the USA.

At the annual charity meeting of the Fund on November 1, Leyla Aliyeva will be presented with the prestigious “Key to Life” award for her active participation in humanitarian projects related to children.

The Children’s Cancer and Blood Fund (CCBF), established in 1952, supports the treatment of chronic, life-threatening blood disorders in children through continuous assistance in pediatric hematology and oncology. It is one of the oldest and largest charitable organizations in the United States working in this field.

During her visit to New York, Leyla Aliyeva visited the Weill Cornell Medical Center at New York Presbyterian Hospital, one of the leading medical institutions in the treatment of pediatric cancer and blood disorders, where she became acquainted with the services provided. Leyla khanum visited young patients receiving treatment at the Center, congratulated them on the traditional American Halloween holiday, and delivered gifts.

The Azerbaijani guest also discussed with the medical staff of the Center the treatment and care of patients with thalassemia. She noted that in Azerbaijan, one in twelve people is a carrier of this genetic blood disorder, and the Heydar Aliyev Foundation implements programs to prevent thalassemia, with a Thalassemia Center operating in Baku.

In a conversation with Professor Patricia Giardina, director of the Thalassemia Program at the Weill Cornell Medical Center and renowned for her scientific research in this field, Leyla Aliyeva expressed her desire to organize a scientific symposium on genetic blood disorders in Azerbaijan and invited the scientist to participate in such a meeting and exchange ideas with specialists in our country.

Joint scientific research on thalassemia was also a major topic during Leyla Aliyeva’s meeting at the research laboratory established at the Medical Center with the support of CCBF.

David Lyden, Director of the Cellular Oncology Program, briefed the Azerbaijani guest on the results of scientific research conducted in the laboratory, emphasizing that the new knowledge gained in pediatric hematology and oncology has greatly contributed to the treatment of these diseases. Leyla Aliyeva discussed with Lyden the possibility of Azerbaijani scientists conducting joint research here in the future.

During her visit to New York, the Vice President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and founder of the IDEA campaign, Leyla Aliyeva, held several other meetings. She met with Vince Meldrum, the international relations representative of Earth Force, a U.S. youth non-governmental organization engaged in environmental education efforts, to discuss the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between Earth Force and IDEA and the organization of training courses for secondary school teachers in Azerbaijan on environmental protection education. Leyla Aliyeva invited Earth Force representatives to participate in the camp “The Role of Youth in Environmental Protection Management: Today and Tomorrow,” to be held from November 24 to 27 in Gabala at the initiative of IDEA. Leyla Aliyeva also met with representatives of the Ecouterre project, which supports environmentally friendly production in the fashion and clothing industry, and exchanged ideas on specific initiatives calling on world youth to adopt a responsible approach to the global environment.