Daily Post Nigeria World SCD: Cross River leads prevalence of Sickle Cell Disease in Nigeria Home News Politics Metro Entertainment Sport Health World SCD: Cross River leads prevalence of Sickle Cell Disease in Nigeria Published on June 19, 2024 By Chika Onyesi The Nigerian government has been tasked to Improve emergency Sickle Cell Disease, SCD, services to ensure quick and empathetic response and also to widen the cover of the National Health Insurance Act, NHIA, for persons living with SCD. The call comes amid the commemoration of the 2024 World Sickle Cell Day, with the global theme, “Hope Through Progress: Advancing Sickle Cell Care Globally. As sickle cell disease continues to pose a significant health concern in Nigeria, health experts and advocates are now brainstorming on solutions to help reduce the prevalence of the disease, which stands at 100,000 to 150,000 sickle cell births annually in the country.
In Nigeria, Cross River State has the highest SCD prevalence rate similar to the national average according to a 2019 study by Hematologists. Recently, our correspondent sat down with an SCD survivor, a health advocate and a Nguvu Change Leader, Onor-Obassi Egim Tawo, to look at the sickle cell scourge as it affects Nigeria. Here are excerpts.
.. DP: In your experience from the advocacy work that you do, how bad do you think the Nigerian sickle cell situation is? It is as bad as it can get.
We are the world’s capital of SCD, our healthcare facilities are not struc.
