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The Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, says the state will explore advanced treatments and strengthening of early interventional systems to control sickle cell disease.
Abayomi said this at the Medical Women’s Association of Nigeria National Executive Council Meeting and Scientific Conference on Saturday in Lagos.
The meeting had the theme: ”Current Trends in the Management of Sickle Cell Disease.”
Abayomi, represented by Dr Bodunrin Osikomaiya, Executive Secretary, Lagos State Blood Transfusion Service , said Lagos was faced with a large number of people living with sickle cell disease.
He said it required continued focus and innovation to manage the condition.
”This includes providing diagnostic capabilities, increasing the availability of basic treatments, and ensuring comprehensive care for those patients.
”To work toward making advanced treatments available, we must also continue to promote screening for public health issues.
”Early diagnosis and intervention can significantly improve the quality of life of those affected. It is vital to continue to raise awareness and learn new tools that will help prevent the spread of sickle cell disease,” Abayomi said.
He highlighted the collaboration between the Lagos University Teaching Hospital and Sickle Cell Foundation Nigeria, which facilitated the establishment of the first comprehensive bone marrow transplant centre in Lagos.
The commissioner said the centre represented a significant step toward providing advanced care, leveraging resources, expertise, and infrastructure to improve healthcare outcomes for patients.
Sickle cell disease is an inherited blood disorder marked by flawed hemoglobin that manifests in early childhood as painful episodes, infections, strokes, and chronic anemia.
It continues to cause serious complications throughout the person’s life, having an impact on the entire body and damaging multiple organ systems.
Similarly, a Professor of Hematology and Blood Transfusion, Obiageli Nnodu, said Nigeria must adopt a paradigm shift to evidence-based interventions to reduce the prevalence of sickle cell disease in the country.
Nnodu, Director of Centre of Excellence For Sickle Cell Disease Research And Training, Abuja, said the way forward was to transition to public health strategies to reduce the burden of sickle cell disease.
”It’s not enough to screen for sickle cell disease, we have to follow them up, identify follow-up barriers, and address them by giving them evidence-based interventions,” she said.
According to her, there’s insufficient knowledge of sickle cell disease by healthcare providers, patients, key stakeholders, and the public globally.
The professor emphasised that comprehensive knowledge was necessary to drive advocacy and policy implementation, noting that Africa was saddled with limited availability and cost of treatment for hydroxyurea, which is the first-line standard treatment for sickle cell.
To address the challenges in sickle cell disease management, Nnodu said efforts are ongoing to improve public health awareness and promotion to increase the availability and affordability of medicines.
”Advocacy is required for resource mobilisation at subnational, national, regional, and international levels to scale up prevention and control efforts.
”Health care professionals require training on sickle cell disease management using simple protocols so that they can confidently prescribe and utilise disease modifying drugs like hydroxyurea.
”Blood transfusion rate is high, so we have to begin to work on pathogen reduction strategies and red blood cell phenotyping,” she said.
The professor said that basic interventions for controlling sickle cell disease include raising public awareness, newborn screening, screening for sickle cell disease at primary healthcare centres, and genetic counseling of individuals with abnormal haemoglobin, among others.
According to her, evidence-based interventions in the management of sickle cell disease include newborn screening; penicillin prophylaxis, and pneumococcal vaccines.
She said others included transcranial Doppler ultrasound screening for detection of stroke risk, transfusion therapy, disease-modifying drugs, and curative therapy.
Similarly, a Professor of Pediatrics, Hematology-oncology at the American University of Beirut, Lebanon, Miguel Abboud, said early diagnosis, supportive care, prevention and management of infections have improved survival rates of patients with sickle cell disease.
Abboud said that hydroxyurea was approved for treating sickle cell disease and has proven effective in decreasing pain crises and prolonging survival.
He added that new drugs were being developed to improve hemoglobin levels, however, affordability remained a concern for patients.
Also, CEO, Sickle Cell Foundation Nigeria, Dr Annette Akinsete, said that Nigeria contributed over 50 per cent to the world’s burden of sickle cell disorder, with an estimated 150,000 babies born annually with sickle cell disorder.
Akinsete said that more than 100,000 of the babies did not live to celebrate their fifth birthday.
She called for more research and awareness to tackle sickle cell disorder toward achieving key targets of sustainable development goals on good health and well-being.
Earlier, Prof. Rosemary Ogu, National President, MWAN, said the conference was to bridge the gap in sickle cell disease management
This, she said, was through education and collaboration among healthcare professionals, patients, caregivers and the public.
NAN
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