Health experts and medical researchers have urged swift and unified efforts to address the growing impact of Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) in Nigeria and across Sub-Saharan Africa.

This was as the Vice-Chancellor, Yakubu Gowon University, Prof. Hakeem Fawehinmi, said Nigeria bore the highest global burden of SCD, with about 150,000 children born yearly with the condition nationwide.

The experts stressed that without a deliberate, collaborative response, the condition would continue to place immense strain on already stretched healthcare systems, affecting millions of lives across the region.

The appeal was made during a meeting of the Centre of Excellence for Sickle Cell Disease Research and Training and the Patient-Centred Sickle Cell Disease Management in Sub-Saharan Africa Consortium, convened yesterday at the university in Abuja.

Last December, the Federal Government renamed the University of Abuja (UNIABUJA) to Yakubu Gowon University to honour the former Head of State for his role in preserving national unity.

In his opening address, Fawehinmi, a professor of Clinical Anatomy and Biomedical Anthropology, underscored the gathering’s importance, describing it as both timely and crucial for the millions living with the condition.

The don further explained that findings from research conducted under the PACTS programme over the past four years produced evidence with the potential to significantly improve health outcomes if effectively applied.

Fawehinmi emphasised the importance of sustained collaboration among government agencies, healthcare providers, researchers and development partners to scale up screening, treatment and community-based support systems, noting that only a coordinated and results-driven approach would yield lasting impact.

In her intervention, the Director, Centre in Nigeria and Co-Principal Investigator of the PACTS programme, Prof. Obiageli Nnodu, disclosed that the consortium had been examining the quality of care delivered to sickle cell patients across health facilities in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Also, Co-principal Investigator of the PACTS programme and haematologist at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Prof. Imelda Bates, emphasised that the initiative was firmly centred on patients’ needs.

The meeting brought together stakeholders from across Africa and international partners to review progress and strengthen collaboration. The PACTS programme, funded by the UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Research, is focused on enhancing care for people living with sickle cell disease in sub-Saharan Africa through a patient-centred model.