Sickle Cell: Government Tasked to Sensitize Citizens

Sickle Cell: Government Tasked to Sensitize Citizens

By: Our Correspondent

The founder of Sickle Cell Patients Health Promotion Centerville (SCPHPC) in Kaduna, Hajiya Badiya Magaji Inuwa, has called on the federal and state governments to ensure proper sensitization about sickle cell disease among Nigerians.

She made this assertion while speaking to the media in Kaduna on April 18th, 2023.

According to her, sickle cell anemia is a terminal disease and should be accorded the same importance as malaria and HIV/AIDS. She expressed dismay that the government at all levels is not giving the required attention to the disease.

Hajiya Badiya stressed the need for the government to make Nigerians undergo genotype tests before marriage as a way of reducing the disease in the country.

She noted that those suffering from sickle cell disease need to be shown love and care to encourage them to fight the disease.

Hajiya Badiya also called for support for parents and relatives of those living with sickle cell disease, stressing that the majority of them face great challenges while taking care of their family members suffering from the disease.

She explained that SCPHPC has collaborated with those living with sickle cell to create more awareness of what they go through and the need for all to come together to support and help them where necessary.

She urged the National Assembly to have a legislative law that would give special attention to sickle cell patients and provide affordable treatment for them. Many were facing stigmatization in society, and there should be a law to protect them from any form of stigmatization.