APPARENTLY moved by the plight of sickle cell carriers in the country coupled with the need give hope, the Sickle Cell Foundation Nigeria (SCFN) and MultiChoice Nigeria have called for improved support for people living with the condition in Nigeria.
They said that though Africa has the highest percentage of sickle cell burden in the world, but the continent is yet to pull its weight behind alleviating sickle cell pains.
Speaking in Lagos at the premiere of ?Keeping Hope Alive? documentary film, produced by MultiChoice to increase awareness of Sickle Cell Disorder (SCD), Chairman SCFN, Prof. Olu Akinyanju informed that SSD was the commonest severe hereditary disorder in the world.
He added that while over 80 per cent of children with sickle cell anaemia were born in Africa, Nigeria has the largest burden with over 40 million healthy carriers of the sickle cell gene (Hb AS) and over 150, 000 children born each year with sickle cell anaemia (Hb SS).
?We, therefore, believe that Nigeria should lead the struggle and not wait helplessly for international aid.
This is precisely why the Sickle Cell Foundation Nigeria has developed a National Sickle Cell centre as recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO).?
He noted that most of the life saving and quality of life enhancing interventions available were discovered through investment in scientific research work done in the United States of America.
?This has enabled better quality and duration of lives to the extent that the average life-expectancy of an African-American with sickle cell anaemia is now over 53 years which is embarrassingly longer than the average life-expectancy of 48 years in all Nigerians.?
Akinyanju added that although there are many Nigerians with sickle cell anaemia living longer than more productive and qualitative lives, the majority of the affected population did not have access to the information and standard of care required to beneficially impact their lives.
Full of gratitude for the support of MultiChoice over the years and the awareness goal of the documentary, he said that the initiative was timely, as it would ensure that Nigerians were better informed and could continue to support and sustain the task that needed to be done.
Head of the DSTV subscription management company, MultiChoice, Mr. Joseph Hunda said that the highest incidence of prevalence in Africa was worrisome, coupled with the support that had largely came through the efforts of public spirited individuals and very little for the government.
He said: ?We in MultiChoice Nigeria also discovered that, to successfully fight the scourge, a lot has to be done in the area of research, awareness, financial support, logistics and mental-health training for health practitioners, among others.?
To further build on its logistical support to the foundation in the last two years, the management signed an MOU with SCFN, to make the fight against SSD a major corporate social investment project, which gave life to the documentary initiative.
Hunda, the Zimbabwean added that the documentary titled: ?Keep Hope Alive? was not designed to discriminate affected persons, rather it was an awareness documentary that showed how affected persons could live a normal life against all odds.
?It is a documentary of faith, life and designed to keep our hopes alive.
?Today?s event is a call to action, a call to contribute to a noble cause. You can do this by supporting the SCFN in this effort to improve the quality of life in our country.
?Today?s event is a call to action, a call to contribute to a noble cause. You can do this by supporting the SCFN in this effort to improve the quality of life in our country.
You can lend your support by contributing through cash or kind,? Hunda said.
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