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Olanrewaju Lawal, Birnin Kebbi
The National Population Commission (NPC) has revealed that 20 per cent of over 11, 000 children who were sampled in the 2018 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey(NDHS) under genotype test have sickle cell trait in Nigeria.
The Federal Commissioner in the commission in- charge of Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara states, Dr Haliru Jikan-Daudu, who stated this on Monday in Birnin Kebbi during the official launching of State Level Dissemination and the 2018 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) Report noted that the commission’s sample carried out across selected areas in the country revealed that children between age of 6-59 exhibits sickle cell traits.
According to him, “Nigeria piloted genotype testing of children ages 6 – 59 months for sickle cell disease for the first time in a DHS survey anywhere in the world. Genotype testing was carried out in a subsample of more than 11,000 children.
“20 per cent of children have the sickle cell trait as overall prevalence of sickle cell disease in Nigerian children age 6-59 months is 1.3 per cent,” he said.
Dr. Jikan-Daudu explained that the survey provides up-to-date estimates on basic demographic and health indicators in the entire country.
“Towards accomplishing this survey report, NPC in close collaboration worked with the National Malaria Elimination Programme (NMEP) under the Federal Ministry of Health across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
” A total of 41, 821 women, aged 15-49 in 40,427 households and 13,311 men aged 15-59 in one third of the sampled households were interviewed,representing a response rate of 99 per cent of women and 99 per cent of men,” Jikan-Daudu said.
In his remarks, Governor Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, who was represented by his Deputy,Col.(rtd) Samaila Yombe Dabai promised that the governments would accept the report and work on it for betterment of citizens.
