Sickle Cell: Commissioner Urges Intending Couples to Test Before Marriage

Ogun State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Tomi Coker, has advised intending couples to go for screening to determine their blood status before getting married.

Coker gave the advice at a workshop for Health Workers on Comprehensive Newborn Screening for Sickle Cell Disease in Abeokuta on Friday.

According to her, going for screening of blood status will help intending couples guide against having children with sickle cell in the future.

She said that no fewer 150,000 children were born annually in Nigeria with sickle cell disease with 90 per cent mortality rate.

“An estimated 150,000 babies are born annually in Nigeria with sickle cell disease. It is a heredity disorder that leads to death of 70 to 90 per cent infants before the age of five.

“Sadly, only a small portion of affected infants and children in sub-Saharan Africa reach adolescence due to the gaps in our health system.

“Very few of these children see their 50th birthday. This is not acceptable for a disease which is preventable through early detection, appropriate interventions and management,” she said.

The commissioner noted that such figure made the country the world’s leading contributor to infant mortality through sickle cell disease.

Coker said that 70 per cent of deaths from the disease could be prevented with a low-cost diagnostic and treatment plan.

She said that Gov. Dapo Abiodun’s consistent investment in the health sector would contribute to a significant reduction in disorders such as the sickle cell disease.

Coker also said that the workshop was the first comprehensive newborn screening for sickle cell disease programme in the state and part of government’s strategies to reduce under five mortality.

She expressed optimism of a success story in the fight against sickle cell disease in the nearest future.

Coker noted that the workshop was in collaboration with partners to have a comprehensive reborn screening for the south west.

The commissioner added that Ogun was the first to embrace the programme which was the beginning of a statewide screening for over 20,000 babies that were delivered annually in the state.

Coker said that sickle cell disease was not death sentence and could be managed to enable the patient live a normal life to old age.

She, however, advised parents, particularly interested mothers who have had babies born with the disease to take advantage of the screening which would be carried out in health facilities across the state.

In his remarks, Dr Festus Soyinka, the Director, Public Health Department, Ministry of Health, said that participants would be exposed to the five components of the newborn screening: testing, tracking, treatment, education and evaluation. Soyinka called on participants to maximize the training opportunity given to them.

In her goodwill message, the workshop facilitator and Consultant Hematologist, Prof. Norah Akinola, described the programme as a landmark event that would end the tears of many mothers and families. Akinola also appreciated the Ogun State Government for prioritizing the health of its citizens.