• Urge Govt To Prioritise Disease
The National Director/Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Sickle Cell Foundation, Nigeria, Dr. Annette Akinsete, has called on government at all levels in the country to prioritise sickle cell condition in Nigeria by stipulating guidelines and policies that can assist the management of the disease due to the prevalent number of persons who live with it.
Akinsete estimated that out of about 150,000 babies born every year with sickle cell in Nigeria, a 100,000 die before celebrating their fifth birthday.
Speaking during the official presentation of Transcranial Doppler (TCD) machines to the foundation by the Rotary Club of Lekki Phase 1 in partnership with the Association of Nigerian Physicians in the Americas (ANPA) and the Covenant Medical Group Global Foundation in Lagos, recently, Akinsete said: “Nigeria is the sickle cell capital of the whole world; Nigeria has highest burden of sickle cell disorder. And so we should really be at the forefront in the fight.”
She said Nigeria ought to be at the forefront of sickle cell initiatives and research efforts but it hasn’t been the case.
“The developments that we have today in the sickle cell space came from the research that has taken place in America. And yet, America doesn’t have up to 100 carriers.
“So, in terms of the burden of the disease, Nigeria is number one. What we are doing with the foundation is managing the condition and helping families stay together by encouraging them.
“By my assessment, more awareness and attention are needed about the condition. Government has to prioritise sickle cell condition. In government’s scale of operations on healthcare delivery, Sickle Cell condition does not have much attention,” she added.
A Nigerian United States -based
pulmonary and critical care physician, Dr. Ngozika Orjioke, who brought the TCD machines, said she provides critical care services within the context of some of community hospitals.
She disclosed that she collaborated with some of her colleagues to support the initiative.
“We are here to improve healthcare across Nigeria, across borders, collaborating with people who already have something in place, and then building on that. So, that was the idea.
“So, when I reached out about the fact that there were no TCD machines here, the Foundation decided to step up to the plate and say, this may not be critical care, but it’s still in health care. This may not be critical care, but it is care that is required; it’s needed,” she said.
Similarly, the Role Model Rotary Club of Lekki Phase 1 in collaboration with ANPA has donated the sum of N500,000 and four TCD machines to the Sickle Cell Foundation, Idi-Araba, Lagos.
The club president, Rotarian Michael Jagger, said the project was at the heart of Rotary because anything that has to do with children is always important and a part of the core areas of focus of the club.
He explained that the project was conceived by the immediate past president of the club, Yetunde Dimowo, during the 2022/2023 Rotary year.
“We were planning to buy one but fortunately for us, we got donors through ANPA. The donors gave us four of the TCD machines, so it’s going to go a long way to prevent crisis,” Jagger said.
District Governor-elect District 9110 and 9112, Femi Adenekan, said the donations were in fulfillment of two area of focus of Rotary –Disease Prevention and Maternal and Infant Treatment.