Sickle Cell Disease Killing More Than Covid-19
Yes, you read that right.
Sickle Cell Disease has become a growing endemic health issue in the country. Every year in Nigeria, according to the World Health Organization, more than 150,000 children become sufferers of the disease. And today, Nigeria unashamedly has the highest number of sufferers of this disease in not just Africa alone but in the world.
On why Sickle cell disease remains a public health issue that is building concern in the world, there is a gross lack of proper awareness about this disease. Government policies that promote a reduction in the number of sufferers are still lacking with funding being inadequate alongside. These are due to the neglect of this disease as an issue that needs to be remedied.
What is Sickle Cell Disorder? Sickle Cell Disease or Disorder is a group of illnesses that affect red blood cells. It causes blood cells which are normally round (disc-shaped) and flexible to become sickle-shaped and stiff. This reduces the number of healthy blood cells and a shortage of oxygen in the body. Interestingly, Sickle Cell Disease is an inherited form of anemia. On this note, it is neither infectious nor contagious.
Sickle Cell patients suffer severe pains, blindness, bone damage, acute chest syndrome, chronic leg ulcer, priapism, and painful erection. Also, it predisposes sufferers to stroke and organ damage including liver, spleen, lung, heart, and even kidney damage. With an annual infant death of 150,000 representing more than 8 percent of infant mortality in Nigeria, Sickle Cell Disease prevalence in the country is estimated at 25 percent. Today, over 40 million Nigerians are carriers of the sickle cell gene, and over 2 percent of Nigerians are affected at birth due to the lack of awareness by couples.
Sickle Cell disorder is a major challenge in Nigeria as sufferers need not just proper health care and management but also mental care. No doubt, the social welfare of sufferers is poor as they suffer from various degrees of stigma causing social isolation sometimes. Access to health care is also discouraging even as many sufferers cannot afford it.
Light at the end of the dark tunnel? Sickle Cell Disease has a cure that is expensive and not widely available to all. This cure is the Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT). The success of this cure has been recorded in some parts of the world. Also NIPRISAN, a traditional herbal remedy developed by Nigerian Scientists in 1998 may soon be back.
According to reports, the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development, NIPRD signed a production agreement with May & Baker on June 18, 2019. NIPRISAN had initially fallen apart due to the lack of Nigerian pharmaceutical drug formulation capacity where the drug patent was then sold to Xechem.
While there are really no governmental organizations focused on Sickle Cell Disease, there are hosts of non-profit and non-government organizations dedicated to bringing hope to African sufferers including Noah’s Ark, Sickle Cell Foundation of Nigeria, and Genotype Foundation.
These organizations come together every year on June 19 to mark World Sickle Cell Day and raise awareness about the disease. But, there is still little they can do without the support of the government. Unfortunately, the risk of having Sickle Cell Disease is higher for people of African descent. Worldwide, over 300,000 children are born with Sickle Cell Disease and over half of these children die before their 5th birthday. There is also an increased risk of stroke for sufferers between the ages of 2 and 16. Some of the ways to manage Sickle Cell Disease is high fluid intakes, vaccinations, antibiotics, a healthy diet, pain medications (morphine), and folic acid supplements.
Altogether, it is long overdue our government begins to give Sickle Cell Disease the attention it needs. It is not just a trivial health issue but one that is fast spreading among citizens. We need to save the present generation as well as the next generations to come. This can only be done by stopping this endemic, we do not need a deleterious allele reducing the quality of life and wiping out our population drastically.
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