World Sickle Cell Day is observed annually on June 19 with the goal to increase public knowledge and an understanding of sickle cell disease, and the challenges experienced by patients and their families and caregivers.
In Africa, sickle cell disease (SCD) is a major public health problem with over 200,000 babies born per year. In Ghana, 2 percent of Ghanaian newborns are diagnosed with SCD annually.
The Ghana Institute of Clinical Genetics is urging the government to absorb the cost of laboratory tests required during treatment for sickle cell patients.
“Sickle sick is very prevalent in our society. We plead with the government to take some of their cost in terms of healthcare so they come to the hospital to access it. I know the government has played a role in the Hydroxyurea and has brought hope to people suffering from sickle cell. I hope the government continues so that a lot more people will benefit,” Dr. Benneth-Akwasi.
A sickle cell patient on medication will have to visit the hospital every month for tests which will cost around one hundred cedis and do some more tests every three months that will cost even more.
The foundation used the opportunity to educate the community on Sickle cell disease and also advised them to screen and make breeding decisions based on sickling statuses.
He also appealed to health authorities to ensure that the clinic was open at all times.
The institute believes this will enhance quality healthcare for persons living with sickle cell, especially in emergency situations.
It added that Ghana is one of the sickle cell endemic countries in the world.
However, speaking to Starr News, the Director of the Ghana Institute of Clinical Genetics Dr. Amma Anima Benneth-Akwasi Kuma appealed to the government to expand the Sickle Cell Clinic at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital.
She explained that Ghana has not done well so far in creating awareness of sickle cell and hence reducing the condition.
Sickle cell anemia, or sickle cell disease (SCD), is a genetic disease of the red blood cells (RBCs). Normally, RBCs are shaped like discs, which give them the flexibility to travel through even the smallest blood vessels. However, with this disease, the RBCs have an abnormal crescent shape resembling a sickle. This makes them sticky and rigid and prone to getting trapped in small vessels, which blocks blood from reaching different parts of the body. This can cause pain and tissue damage.
Symptoms of sickle cell anemia usually show up at a young age. They may appear in babies as early as 4 months old but generally occur around the 6-month mark.
Some symptoms of Sickle Cell include excessive fatigue or irritability from anemia, fussiness in babies, bedwetting from associated kidney problems, jaundice (yellowing of the eyes and skin), swelling and pain in hands and feet, frequent infections, and pain in the chest, back, arms, or legs.
The theme for this year’s observance is “Hope Through Progress: Advancing Sickle Cell Care Globally.”
Source: Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh/103.5FM/Benjamin Sackey
