Madam Owusu said young people must be properly educated on the implications of giving birth to children with sickle cell disease.

She stated this in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA), noting that it was not right for healthy people to decide to marry and give birth to children who would suffer due to their selfishness.

According to her, statistics show that while two percent of the population has the SS gene, 23 percent are either AS or CS and are carriers, while 75 percent are AA.

“If 75 percent of the population with AA genes could marry the AS and SS people, there would be no sickle cell disease in Ghana. God wants to see how we blacks can prevent the disease since it is preventable,” she said.

She called for advocacy on the disease to ensure that people know their status before falling in love and marrying instead of coming together and giving birth to children with SS who will suffer pain the whole of their lives.

Mr. Kwaku Kwateng Yeboah, the Programme Coordinator for SICCA and a sickle cell patient, explained that through lobbying, sickle cell testing had been added to the list of medical tests done for students entering senior high schools.

Mr Yeboah noted that there was a need for proper explanation and education on such test results to enable them to make informed decisions.

He indicated that his outfit was bringing together faith-based organisations and other stakeholders to form a coalition for intense education on the disease, adding that they were also partnering with the University of Education to conduct a study on how the disease affects the academics and lifestyle of students with sickle cell diseases.

Sickle cell disease is a genetic mutation that affects the haemoglobin within the red blood cells, causing them to clump together and turn sickle shaped.

The sickle-shaped cells cause blockages in the blood flow, which can lead to anaemia, pain, infections, and severe complications.