Minister hails NGO over fight against Sickle Cell anaemia

By Stanley Onyekwere

The Minister of special duties and intergovernmental affairs, Senator George Akume, has commended a Non Governmental Organisation (NGO), LA’ Grace Sickle Cell Foundation (LGSCF), for taking up the initiative to mitigate the increasing rate of Sickle Cell anaemia in the society.
Akume also praised the NGO for ensitising people on the need to be more conscious of their genotypes and medical status before marriage.
Represented by a senior staff of the ministry, Dr Lilian Ogbole, the Minister said that although the fight against sickle cell disease is not the primary role of the ministry, but it would collaborate with other ministries to ensure that Nigerians have nothing than the best in every aspects of life.
Making this assertion at the launch of LGSCF, in Abuja at the weekend, Akume reiterated that the government is worried that Nigeria has remained the country with the highest number of sickle cell disease in the world.
According to him, in the past, a lot of attention has not been attached in creating the needed awareness and sensitization about the diseases in Nigeria, which he noted was responsible for the rising case of the disease in the country.
“We are concerned about sickle cell anaemia because as you are aware, right now Nigeria is ranked as the country with the highest rate of sickle cell patient in the world.
“So, we in the ministry have roles to collaborate with other ministries to bring the menace of sickle cell disease to an end,” he stated.
Earlier, the founder of the NGO, Abdulrazeez Abdul, had stressed the need to take the awareness and sensitisation campaign on the disease to the rural areas, where people are not aware of what sickle cell is all about.
Abdul frowned at the little attention being given to the menace of sickle cell disease in the country, which he noted was responsible for placing Nigeria as the highest case of the disease in the world.
He noted that sickle cell disease deserves much attention, because so many Nigerians are suffering from it, but government and Nigerians do not know about this disease.