World gears up against sickle cell

Nigeria joins the rest of the world in celebrating World Sickle Cell Day . the sickle cell foundation of Nigeria (SCFN) have selected the theme “Control Of Sickle Cell Diseases in Nigeria at primary care level”, with the sub-theme “ collaborating for the control of sickle cell diseases in west Africa held at Auditorium National Trauma Centre, National Hospital, Abuja.

  The goal targeted to achieve at the event is to explore ways of  expanding sickle cell care into primary care  settings, where majority of Nigerians live by leveraging on, and using infrastructure programmes that have worked .

  In this year celebration, there would be a workshop intended to forge a link between Nigeria and United Kingdom researchers and a plan to launch the West Africa Sickle Cell  Network.

  Contributing in making the date a reality, world over are the support of the Republic of Congo,  the Republic of Sengal and the commitment in the  scientific world.

  African Union (2005), the  United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) 2005), World Health Organisation  WHO (2006) and the United Nations (2008) recognised sickle cell as  a public health priority, hence the sickle cell day. In order to raise awareness of the disease as well as educate the general public and affected persons on life- saving services available for them at the  National Sickle Cell centres.

   Sickle cell is a group of disorder that affects haemoglobin, the molecule in red blood cells that  delivers oxygen to cells throughout the body. People with this disorders have a typical haemoglobin  molecules called haemoglobin S, which   can distort red blood cells into a sickle or crescent shape and is usually inherited by both parents. Who has the haemogloin S that is usually dormant  in them and active in the child with the sickle