Sickle Cell Foundation Seeks Public Support

The Sickle Cell  Founda
tion Nigeria (SCFN), and Sickle Cell Club, Lagos, have called for public support to help improve the lives of people with Sickle Cell Disorders (SCD).
President, Sickle Cell Club, Mrs Ayo Otaigbe who made the plea at the club’s function in Lagos, recently, said more research was also required to aid in the management of the disorder.
Otaigbe stated that it is a documented fact that over 150,000 children are born every year in Nigeria with symptomatic sickle cell anaemia with one in every four Nigerian as a carrier of the sickle cell gene.
“Many of these children die at infancy due to lack of information and appropriate care. Over the years, advances have been made to unravel the complex nature of SCD. However, the disorder is not well understood as expected and it is certainly not amenable to various drugs of unproven efficacy optimistically marketed in Nigeria.”
“Therefore, more research is needed in various fronts, especially on the immediate cause of severe pain crisis so that rational therapy and not simple analgesics can be applied”, she said.
According to her, the objective will be to effectively about or prevent their occurrence.
Otaigbe said although SCD was not confined to Africa, over 80 percent of affected children were born on the continent, yet Africa had shown apathy in addressing the major public health problem.
She enjoined Nigerians to make a difference and contribute to promote funding that will make meaningful research into SCD in Africa a reality.
The  SCFN president said that the club had through its activities continued to increase public awareness and knowledge of the disorder especially through the establishment of sickle cell clubs, partnering with the SCFN and other stakeholders.
According to her, the focus for 2016 will be to consolidate on the successes recorded so far in 2015 and increase the level of awareness.
On his part, Prof Olu Akinyaju, chairman, SCFN, reiterated the need for Nigerians to support people with SCD as well as the establishment of at least one sickle cell centre in each state of the federation.
He said “people should support person with SCD. They should also support the centre and the clubs because there is a lot to be done in the area of SCD.
We do not get enough donations, research has to be done and workers need to be paid. People with SCD need tests, counseling and medication. We have a programme where we encourage every one to get N5,000 monthly to the centre, it will mean a lot.”
In 2016, we will do more capacity building for it is very important and it will involve periodic counseling, training for personnel, doctors and nurses for emergency situations”.
Akinyaju further advised people with SCD to always keep warm, stay away from dust sleep under mosquito nets, take medication and drink a lot of water during harmattan.