The Minister of Health, Dr Ber­nard Oko Boye, said “the National Strategy for Sickle Cell Disease represents a significant milestone in our ongoing efforts to address SCD in Ghana.”

Dr Boye, whose speech was read on his behalf by Dr Mavis Sakyi, the Acting Head of Health Promotion, said the ministry acknowledge that SCD was not just a medical condition, but a life-long experience that affected millions of people globally.

Participants in the programme Photo: Ebo Gorman

He said “we strongly hold fast the belief that empowerment be­gins with education. By enhancing awareness about SCD. We equip in­dividuals with the information they need to make informed decisions about their health, their progeny and the choice of their spouse.”

The minister made the call at the first ever national conference on the prevention of SCD, organ­ised by SICCA to commemorate the World Sickle Cell Day, on the theme; ‘United for Health: Em­powering Knowledge and Action Against Sickle Cell Disease,’ in Accra.

Adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 22, 2008, World Sickle Cell Day, is observed annually on June 19, to raise awareness by educating the public about SCD, its symp­toms and the challenges faced by patients.

The theme for this year’s obser­vation ‘Hope through Progress: Advancing Sickle Cell Care Glob­ally,’ underscored the importance of unity, collective voices, and heightened awareness to reduce stigma and bring about meaningful change for the millions affected by sickle cell disease.

He noted that Ghana faced chal­lenges in the prevention, diagnosis and management of individuals living with SCD.

These, the minister said includ­ed, delay in screening new born babies, inadequate infrastructure and clinics for SCD, less coordinat­ed governance structure for SCD, absence of training manuals for capacity building, limited research in SCD and increased cost of care for SCD service delivery.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Founder of Sickle Condition Advocate (SICCA), Ms Charlotte Owusu, urged the general public, especially the youth, to visit health facilities to check for SCD before marriage.

This, she said would aid them in choosing their future compatible partners, to prevent SCD in their offspring.

Ms Owusu said that 75 per cent of the world’s population was neg­ative for sickle phenotype and AA as their Genotype, adding that just 25 per cent of the world’s popula­tions were carriers of the disease.

She said that 2 per cent of all children were born with SCD, which translated to 18,000 children per year globally.

Ms Owusu explained that SCD disease was a genetic blood dis­order caused by a mutation in the hemoglobin gene, leading to the production of abnormal hemoglo­bins.