2020 World Sickle Cell Day: Create a Sickle Cell Centre Now, Foundation Urges FG
The Founder, Beulah Sickle Cell Foundation, Mrs. Josephine Olunaike has urged the Federal Government of Nigeria to create a sickle cell centre in Nigeria to create awareness and manage the crisis, ‘warriors” are faced with.
Mrs. Olunaike while speaking to Aspheric News in Abuja over the weekend at the commemoration of the 2020 World Sickle Cell Day noted that the government should be more interested and concerned about SCDs and as such create a centre to that regard.
“The government should have an interest in the area of SCDs. Nigeria can afford to have an agency under the ministry of health that will be a sickle cell center.”
“This agency will oversee departments such as management of persons living with sickle cell as they cannot be wished away, counseling department of the next generation thus guiding them into choosing their life partners, etc.”
She added that SCDs should be declared a pandemic considering Nigeria having the highest number of SCDs victims globally.
According to her, SCDs is actually different from other diseases such as cancer, kidney failure, etc because SCDs are preventable when one knows their genotype, and as such, If the government takes SCDs seriously then a lot of families will be helped.
“Talking about the state of emergency is a broad one, If Nigeria has the highest number of cases in the world then SCDs have become a pandemic in Nigeria”.
“Now, in this part of the world, you find a lot of addiction among warriors. Some now know how to inject themselves, which if not taken care of becomes a mental issue and this affects the society. So, SCDs should be declared a pandemic and be treated as such”
Mrs. Olunaike further stated that the level of awareness is still quite low as factors such as the barbaric culture of betrothing, girl-child marriage, match-making and the likes have made many to believe that SCDs does not even exist.
“The level of awareness is low in a country as large as Nigeria which is why so many people are not informed, while on the other hand, some people do not even believe the Sickle Cell Disease exists.”
She thereby advised Nigerian Youth to know their genotype before consummating a relationship that might lead to marriage.
“Know your Genotype; this will guide you in choosing your life partner, Love is good but love that brings forth pain should be avoided”. She added.
To warriors, she said “SCDs is a challenge and a problem but the presence of the challenge does not mean the absence of God or absence of the solution. The only limitation is the one you accept.
“To the public, please do not stigmatize them. Help out in the way you can and if you cannot do not add to the problem.”