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About Arthritis Kids South Africa
Arthritis Kids South Africa (AKSA) is the first patient advocacy and family support group in South Africa to focus exclusively on the rights and needs of children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). Registered in 2019 as a nonprofit company and public benefit organisation, AKSA aims to ensure that no child in South Africa suffers preventative disability or pain caused by undiagnosed or untreated JIA.
Arthritis Kids South Africa: Reg No: 2019/364660/08 PBO No: 930067342 NPO No: 233-815 NPO
Arthritis Kids South Africa: Reg No: 2019/364660/08 PBO No: 930067342 NPO No: 233-815 NPO
About juvenile idiopathic arthritis
Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), a chronic autoimmune disease, is the most common cause of musculoskeletal disability in children.* Between nineteen and seventy-five thousand children in South Africa are estimated to suffer from JIA, most of whom are undiagnosed, living in pain, and at an increased risk of preventable disability. Among the diagnosed, many receive inadequate care, including a majority of an estimated 25% of patients requiring specialised medication called biologics. JIA is ideally treated by a paediatric rheumatologist, of whom there are ten across the country in only three of the nine provinces.
*South African Medical Journal 2015;105(12):1077. DOI:10.7196/SAMJ.2015. v105i12.10223
*South African Medical Journal 2015;105(12):1077. DOI:10.7196/SAMJ.2015. v105i12.10223