Vice-President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, founder of the International Dialogue for Environmental Action, IDEA, Leyla Aliyeva is in New York to receive the "Key to Life" award of the Children`s Cancer & Blood Foundation (CCBF).
At the annual charity meeting, Mrs. Aliyeva will be presented with the award for her active participation in humanitarian projects for children.
The Children`s Cancer & Blood Foundation is the largest & oldest charitable organization in the US dedicated to the care of children suffering from blood diseases and cancers. CCBF funding has helped revolutionize the treatment of children suffering from cancers & childhood blood disorders.
As part of her visit to New York, Leyla Aliyeva visited Weill Cornell Medical Center at the New York-Presbyterian Hospital, one of the leading centers for treatment of pediatric cancer and blood diseases. Mrs. Aliyeva visited children receiving treatment at the Center, congratulated them on occasion of Halloween and presented them with gifts.
The Heydar Aliyev Foundation`s Vice-President also spoke to medical staff of the Center and inquired about treatment of thalassemia patients. According to her, the Heydar Aliyev Foundation implement programs in Azerbaijan to prevent this disease, adding a Thalassemia Center was established in Baku to this end.
Talking to Patricia Giardina, head of the thalassemia program at the Weill Cornell Medical Center, Leyla Aliyeva expressed her desire to organize a scientific symposium on genetic blood diseases in Azerbaijan and invited the scholar to participate in event and exchange views with Azerbaijani scholars.
The meeting Leyla Aliyeva held in research laboratory created at the Center with support of the Children`s Cancer and Blood Fund focused on joint thalassemia researches, as well. Head of the Cellular Oncology Program David Lyden briefed Mrs. Aliyeva on the outcomes of researches conducted by the laboratory. Aliyeva discussed with Lyden possibilities of Azerbaijani scholars` conducting joint research here.
Leyla Aliyeva held a number of other meetings in New York. At a meeting with Vince Meldrum, official of the US-based Earth Force non-governmental organization, the discussions focused on signing of a memorandum of understanding between IDEA and Earth Force and holding courses on environmental protection for high school teachers in Azerbaijan.
Mrs. Aliyeva invited Earth Force representatives to participate in a camp "Role of youth in management of environmental protection: Today and Tomorrow" to be held by IDEA in Gabala town of Azerbaijan on 24-27 November.
Leyla Aliyeva also met with representatives of Ecouterre project, which supports ecologically clean production in the field of fashion and clothing, and exchanged views on initiatives calling on the world youth to be responsible about the global environment.

AzerTAc