- amplify preventive measures
From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
The University of Abuja (UniAbuja) has championed the campaign against sickle cell disease in Nigeria, stressing that the disease is increasingly ravaging the population, especially young ones.
The University said its Centre of Excellence for Sickle Cell Disease Research and Training has been deeply involved in a series of advanced research in collaboration with foreign partners on prevention, curative therapy, and several other concerns.
Prof. Obiageli Nnodu, the Director, Centre of Excellence for Sickle Cell Disease Research and Training, Abuja, told journalists at a public lecture titled “The Evolving Therapeutic Landscape in Sickle Cell Disease”, in Abuja, that the Federal Government has recognised the great works of the Centre, and had upgraded it to National Centre of Excellence for Sickle Cell Disease Research and Training to coordinate sickle cell disease in the country.
Prof. Nnodu said the public lecture, which was delivered by Dr. Maureen Achebe, Clinical Director of Haematology at Harvard’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital in US, was designed to further provide information to the people particularly the young medical students on how sickle cell disease operates, journey so far, and measures being introduced to tackle the disease.
Prof. Titus Ibekwe, Provost, College of Health Sciences, UniAbuja, said that sickle cells have become a public health concern for more number of people, mostly due to ignorance and poor attention to details.
“Prevention is very key in the fight against sickle cell, and this costs nothing. It simply means paying close attention when selecting a life partner to ensure that someone with AS blood group does not get married to AS genotype or someone with SS genotype getting married to another person with SS genotype. Doing this simply means increasing the chances of giving birth to children with sickle cell anaemia, which comes with pain and frustration.
“If we pay close and good attention to these things over time, we would be able to eliminate sickle cell disease to the bearest minimum within our society.”
Dr. Achebe, in the lecture, highlighted the fact that Nigeria and Africa carry the burden of sickle cell disease in the world. “Can you imagine that 300,000 babies are born annually with sickle cell disease in Africa, and Nigeria accounts for half of the number, 150,000. This is dangerous to the posterity of the country as regards quality and healthy population.
She, however, suggested regular screening of newborns to detect cases of sickle cell disease. “Many babies are born with sickle cell disease, and they look normal and healthy until a few years later when they start getting sick. So, detecting the disease early will help to give them a few therapy that will make them live better and heathier.
“Several studies have confirmed that giving hydroxuria daily to sickle cell patient will help their longevity. Our dream is to reduce mortality among children and adults to a significant number through these interventions.
“There’s improvements in treatment using bone marrow transplantation and gene therapy, but we need to identify the patients as early as possible so we can administer the treatments and save lives.