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By Edward Williams
Hohoe (V/R), Aug. 22, GNA – Five thousand Basic Schools pupils have benefitted from free Sickle Cell screening in the Hohoe Municipality as part of activities marking the 2023 Volta Region Sickle Cell Disease Awareness and Education Campaign.
It is being organised by the Fred N Binka School of Public Health and the School of Medicine, University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS).
Dr Mary Akua Ampomah, Advocacy and Engagement Lead and a Lecturer, Fred N Binka of the School of Public Health, University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS) said the screening was important because statistics showed that three or four out of every 10 people in Ghana were carriers of Sickle Cell Disease.
He said: “In Ghana, two percent of children born every year have Sickle Cell Disease. So, for us to reduce the prevalence of the Disease, it is important to test people so everybody should know their Sickle Cell status.”
Dr Ampomah noted that due to funding, newborn screening for the disease which started back in Kumasi in 1995 stopped and the pockets of newborn screening nationwide had also ended, adding that for the past three months, newborn screening had stopped everywhere in Ghana.
She said screening the population that did not know their Sickle Cell statuses was very important, especially children, to help them make informed decision and choices about their partners, relationship and marriage when they grew.
Dr Ampomah said knowing one’s status could also prevent people having children living with Sickle Cell Disease, adding that the disease was not because of demons nor ancestral curses as being perceived.
She said the various Sickle Cell support groups had to be empowered to advocate for nationwide screening of newborns, adding that as part of that the Sickle Cell Association would increase their advocacy to ensure that all the challenges that came with the newborn screening would be solved.
Some students who benefitted from the exercise expressed gratitude for being part of the free exercise since most of them were aware that knowing their sickle cell status came at a cost in health facilities.
GNA
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