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From Laide Raheem, Abeokuta
The Oladipupo Foundation for Sickle Cell, a non-governmental organisation, has called on the Federal Government to subsidize stem cell transplants in order to make the procedure more accessible and affordable for the people living with sickle cell disorder in Nigeria.
This call was made by the promoter of the foundation, Dotun Oladipupo, at the weekend in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, while addressing journalists on the sidelines of an awareness walk to commemorate the 2026 World Sickle Day.
Oladipupo, who is a Mass Communication lecturer at the Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, Abeokuta and a person living with sickle cell disorder, said though the stem cell transplant is a wonderful scientific innovation and discovery, many families cannot afford the cost of the procedure.
He noted that the government has a critical role to play in this regard, emphasising that the medical procedure should be highly subsidised.
According to him, stem cell transplants can help people living with sickle cell disorder to live an improved and healthy lifestyle, appealing for special government intervention to make the procedure available at an affordable cost to an average family in the country.
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Oladipupo added that the government should also partner with donor agencies to make new interventions in medication for sickle cell more affordable and accessible.
“Stem cell transplant is a wonderful scientific innovation and discovery. However, it is still very expensive, especially within the average family in Nigeria today. The Federal Government has a role to play here to make the procedure more accessible and affordable, so that many people living with sickle cell disorder can get an improved and healthy lifestyle.
He explained that the awareness walk was organized to serve as a symbol and to call the attention of the world, the government, and corporate organizations to the plights of the people living with sickle cell disorder.
“The walk is also to let them (people living with sickle cell disorder) know that they are not alone; that the whole world is with them. And that today is another day for them to hope, even if it is hoping against hope that they can live their life to the fullest,” he stated.
Oladipupo, however, charged parents, guardians and caregivers of “warriors” to stick with them and give them all the support they needed, declaring that “sickle cell disorder is not a death sentence.”
