MECFA Launches “MADI: The Path to Progress” A Regional Initiative to Build Diagnostic Pathways for Children with Cystic Fibrosis
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Izmir February 13, 2026 — The Middle East Cystic Fibrosis Association (MECFA) has officially launched MADI: The Path to Progress, a three-year regional initiative designed to address one of the most critical barriers facing children with cystic fibrosis (CF) across the Middle East, North Africa, and parts of Central and South Asia: lack of diagnosis.
While scientific breakthroughs have transformed cystic fibrosis care in high-income countries, many children in low- and middle-income regions remain undiagnosed — and therefore invisible to health systems.
“If children are not diagnosed, they do not exist to health systems,” said Christine Noke, President & CEO of MECFA. “They are not counted, not planned for, and not treated. MADI exists to change that.”
The Diagnostic Gap
In many countries across the region, access to gold-standard sweat testing and CFTR genetic testing is limited or unavailable. As a result, children often present late with advanced lung damage, severe malnutrition, and life-threatening complications. At the same time, life-saving CFTR modulator therapies increasingly exist globally, including through donation and emerging access pathways. However, children cannot qualify for
these treatments without confirmed diagnosis and genetic testing. “The barrier is not medicine,” Noke added. “The barrier is diagnosis.”
What MADI Will Deliver
Over three years, MADI will build sustainable diagnostic infrastructure across the region by providing:
45 diagnostic systems donated to 45 hospitals
45,000 sweat tests donated
6,000 genetic tests provided to enable access to precision therapy
Structured training for clinicians and diagnostic technicians
A regional CF diagnostic registry to generate reliable data
Engagement with Ministries of Health to integrate CF into national health frameworks
The initiative is designed not as a short-term intervention, but as a systems-building
program that enables governments and hospitals to sustain diagnostic pathways long-term.
Clinical Leadership and Global Support
MADI is led by MECFA in partnership with Professor Bülent (Taner) Karadağ, MD, Head of Pediatric Pulmonology at Marmara University. The campaign is supported by international cystic fibrosis leaders and ambassadors, including Dr. Preston Campbell, former CEO of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and CF pediatrician, and Cam McLoud, Chair Emerita, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. “Diagnosis is the foundation of care,” said Dr. Campbell. “Without it,
treatment and policy cannot follow. MADI addresses this gap directly.”
A Human Impact
For adults like Rami, a CF patient from Lebanon who now serves as a campaign ambassador, diagnosis and access to treatment meant survival. “There was a time when treatment was not available to me,” Rami said. “Today I am married and a father. Diagnosis led to access. Access led to life.” MADI aims to ensure that children across the region do not have to wait for answers while treatment sits just out of reach.
A Call to Action
MECFA is inviting foundations, corporations, philanthropists, and individuals to support the MADI campaign and help scale diagnostic access across the region. “Medicine cannot reach children who remain unseen,” said Noke. “MADI is the path to progress — and we invite partners to join us in building it.” To learn more or support the initiative, visit:
About MECFA
The Middle East Cystic Fibrosis Association (MECFA) works to improve diagnosis, access to care, and survival outcomes for people living with cystic fibrosis across the Middle East and surrounding regions. Through partnerships with hospitals, clinicians, ministries of health, and global leaders, MECFA builds sustainable systems that enable long-term impact.
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