PRESS COMMUNIQUE

Date: 27th of June 2005

From:The International Federation for Spina Bifida and/or Hydrocephalus (IF),

Headquarters in Brussels,

Cure international

Title: IF Award 2005

The International Federation for Spina Bifida and/or Hydrocephalus (IF) is the umbrella organisation representingnational organisations for Hydrocephalus and Spina Bifida (*) on a world wide level.

Each year, the Federation presents the IF-Award to an individual or organisation in recognition of the special contribution they have made in the service to people with disabilities in general or to people with Hydrocephalus and Spina Bifida in particular.

By unanimous decision of the International Board, it has been decided that the IF Award for the year 2005 will be given to Dr. Ben Warf.

10 years ago, IF started a pilot project for early intervention, treatment, rehabilitation and follow-up of children with Spina Bifida andHydrocephalus in Africa. The aims of this IF project in Africa are to prevent Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus as much as possible, and improve the lives of persons with these conditions and their families, by organising appropriate training, surgery and rehabilitation, through existing medical, therapeutic and community based services in the different partner countries. Dr. Warf has been a partner from the beginning and became an IF Medical Consultant on neurosurgery.

Dr. Warf will receive this award for his thrusting back the frontiers of knowledge for the treatment of Hydrocephalus in Africa. This year the Journal for Paediatric Neurosurgery published two articles written by Dr. Warf. One was regarding the results using ETV as the method of treatment for children with Hydrocephalus. The second article compared the expensive Codman shunt with the much less expensive Indian Chhabra shunt. As Medical Director and Chief of Surgery at the CURE Children's Hospital of Uganda he developed an achievable neurosurgical program for the treatment of Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus. Dr. Warf knows how to translate the latest technology into a useable system for Africa. He is also very involved in transferring this knowledge to local physicians. This has resulted in the Cure PATH Programme. This is a training program which transfers the results obtained in Uganda to other countries and regions. With his dedication to treat children with Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus in Africa, Dr. Warf is crossing borders all the time thereby influencing medical practice worldwide.

The International Federation motivated its decision by saying that the driving force of Dr. Warf is to fight for the poorest of the poor, like the disabled people in Africa, for those that may otherwise be denied the benefit of health services. The high quality of service in his hospital resulted in important advances in the treatment of hydrocephalus in Africa and world wide.

TheAward itself is in the form of a bronze statue. It was designed and created for IF by the Swedish artist Mr Olovson.

TheAward will be officially presented to Dr. Warf on June 27, 2005 at the opening session of the 13th World Conference for spina bifida and hydrocephalus in the Hyatt Regency (1300 Nicollet Mall), Minneapolis, in the presence of the IF president, Mr Pierre Mertens and handed over by doctor Karin Muraszkowho herself has Spina Bifida.

What is Spina Bifida? (*)

Spina bifida is one of the most common congenital birth defects, affecting 1 to 2 in every 1000 live births.

It is caused by a fault in the development of the central nervous system in the early stages of pregnancy and within the first 25 days after conception. The spinal cord and vertebrae do not form completely and the neural tube fails to develop normally. Because of these defects, people born with spina bifida usually have some degree of paralysis, which affects their mobility as well as their bowel and bladder control. More than 85% of babies with Spina Bifida also develop Hydrocephalus.

People with Spina Bifida often need long-term care and medical follow-up. However, with proper support, most people with Spina Bifida learn to overcome problems, gain confidence in themselves and go on to live full and independent lives.

What is Hydrocephalus? (*)

Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is produced in the ventricles or cavities of the brain. It circulates throughout the brain and spinal cord and is absorbed into the bloodstream. Normally there is a balance between the production and the absorption of CSF. If the natural circulation of CSF is obstructed, fluid accumulates in the brain and hydrocephalus results. The excess fluid presses on the brain causing damage to the surrounding tissue. In babies and infants where the skull is still soft, the head enlarges.

This obstruction of the normal CSF pathways can be caused by abnormal brain anatomy as is the case with Spina Bifida. It can also be the result of meningitis, tumours, cysts, trauma or intracranial bleeding which occurs more frequently following premature birth.

Hydrocephalus is treated surgically either by the insertion of a shunt, which is a valve and tube system, which diverts or shunts the excess CSF around the blockage so it can return to the bloodstream, or by an endoscopic third vertriculostomy (ETV) which creates a natural bypass for the CSF.