AGOS – A Laboratory Scientist, Mr Olayemi Onijala, on Wednesday urged the eight National Assembly to ensure speedy passage of the Sickle Cell Disease (Prevention, Control and Management) Bill pending before the Senate.
Onijala, Head of Laboratory Department at the Sickle Cell Foundation Nigeria, Idi-Araba, Lagos, made the plea in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.
NAN recalls that the bill, sponsored by former senators Ifeanyi Okowa from Delta and Usman Nenadi from Kaduna State in 2011, is still pending before the outgoing senate.
It seeks to provide a legal framework for the prevention, control and management of sickle cell disorder.
The bill also aims at drawing the attention of the public to the health burden arising from the disorder in Nigeria.
Onijala said funds from the governments and other donor agencies for sickle cell patients in Nigeria is not encouraging, adding that the situation requires government and public understanding and support.
He said that the prevalence of the disorder in Nigeria was decreasing due to some level of awareness and information made available to the people living with the disorder.
Onijala said: “Over 40 million Nigerians are healthy carriers of the sickle cell gene, while over 150,000 babies are born each year with the sickle cell anaemia.
“This figure is, however, on decrease.
“This is the largest burden of the disorder in the world and most of these children die in childhood because of ignorance and lack of access to correct diagnosis and proper care.’’
The laboratory scientist said that the foundation had been engaging in many intervention activities and treatment of Nigerians sickle cell disorder patients below the age of 15 years in Italy.
“Sickle Cell Foundation Nigeria operates a private public partnership (PPP) with the Federal Government through its affiliation with the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) and Mediterranean Institute of Haematology, Rome, Italy.
“Under this partnership, Sickle Cell Foundation Nigeria provides for sickle cell children between the ages of two months to 15 years to undergo free bone marrow (Stem Cell) transplantation.
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“Under this tripartite arrangement, many sickle cell patients have benefitted from the free treatment.
“What they paid for was only the return ticket and accommodation bill in Italy.
“Bone marrow or stem cell transplant is the most effective cure for sickle cell disorder. It is the most affordable.
“A sickle cell patient will be producing new healthy blood cells with the transplant.
“The newly developed gene therapy for the cure of sickle cell disorder has not been given due attention because of the low level of technological development in Nigeria,” he said.
Onijala also said that the foundation had come a long way in addressing the disorder in spite of the previous governments’ indifference to its activities.
“Sickle Cell Foundation is currently running five dedicated Sickle Cell clinics in Lagos, Benin, Delta, Port Harcourt and Kano.
“We also give genetic counselling services with appropriate health education to those who don’t know how to help sickle cell patients whenever they experience crisis.
“For such patient, because the crisis is based on lack of oxygenated blood, the sufferer can be given water which contains oxygen as first aid.
“About one in 14 children with sickle cell anaemia have high risk of developing strokes.
“This stroke can be prevented, if the children at risk of developing it can be identified.
“With modern Transcranial Doppler (TCD) ultrasound at the foundation, we can identify and hence prevent strokes in these children,’’ he said. (NAN)
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