Minister of Health and Social Services, Prof. Muhammad Pate, has declared Nigeria’s determination to tackle Sickle Cell Diseases (SCD) countrywide.
He also pledged to upscale of the Centre of Excellence for Sickle Cell Disease Research and Training (CESRTA) at the University of Abuja into a National Centre of Excellence for the coordination of research and training in sickle cell disease in the country.
Pate announced intension to play a leading role in a global coalition to make the case for SCD prioritised as a Non-Communicable Disease (NCD) of public health importance that required global efforts and commitment to address.
The minister made the declarations at the Fifth Global Sickle Cell Disease Congress held in Abuja.
Pate said: “The hosting of this congress will spur genuine discussion about the burden and challenges of SCD, not just in Nigeria, but globally as it affects global public health and as a disease that had been neglected for too long, thus negatively impacting the lives of those affected.”
To reduce its goals, the minister said the Federal Government adopted a universal newborn screening of children born in Nigeria for SCD to identify cases early in life and established six SCD centres, with requisite equipment and consumables following a baseline assessment, and the development of a national guideline for the prevention and management of the disease.
Nigeria has also established partnership with an indigenous pharma company to provide access to Hydroxyurea, while a nationwide capacity building of healthcare workers at the primary level of care to ensure early diagnosis and interventions are currently ongoing.
In Nigeria, SCD is one of the top 10 non-communicable diseases (NCDs) causing significant disability, morbidity and mortality and one disorder that impact negatively on the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and may likewise significantly affect the attainment of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 1, 3, 4 and 10.
The Director of the new National Excellence for Sickle Cell Disease Research and Training, and Co-Chairperson of the Global Congress on SCD, Prof. Obiageli Nnodu, said the congress had brought together healthcare professionals, researchers, patients, families, caregivers, advocates, industry leaders, and policymakers from 60 countries, adding that it was the second Global Congress on Sickle Cell Disease to be held in Africa, the first took place in Ghana in 2010.
