Show Commitment to Sickle Cell Disease (Page 32)

Story: Lucy Adoma Yeboah
THE Federation of Associations of Sickle Cell Societies, an advocacy group on sickle cell disease, has appealed to the government to show commitment to issues of sickle cell disease just as it does for other life-threatening diseases.
According to the group, if resources were devoted to educate Ghanaians on how to prevent the disease, many people, especially couples-to-be, would be in a position to make informed decisions before marriage.
In an interview in connection with the celebration of the Africa Day of Sickle Cell, which falls on May 10, every year, the Vice-President of the federation, Mr Peter Mensah, said some couples ended up bringing forth children with the disease as a result of the lack of knowledge.
He also talked about the lack of adequate healthcare facilities to manage the disease.
The disease is an inherited blood disorder that affects red blood cells. People with sickle cell disease have red blood cells that contain mostly haemoglobin S, an abnormal type of haemoglobin.
Sometimes, these red blood cells become sickle shaped (crescent shaped) and have difficulty passing through small blood vessels, therefore causing severe pain.
When sickle-shaped cells block small blood vessels, less blood can reach certain parts of the body. Tissues that do not receive normal blood flow eventually become damaged, causing the complications of sickle cell disease.
Statistics provided by Professor F.I.D. Konotey-Ahulu in his publication, “The Sickle Cell Disease Patient (1991)”, indicated that out of every million children born in Ghana, not less than 30,000 inherit an abnormal gene relating to haemoglobin formation from both parents, resulting in the disease.
According to the report, more than 20,000 of that number will suffer from sickle cell disease.
Mr Mensah said it was unfortunate for society to ignore the issues of sickle cell and leave patients and their families to suffer alone.
He said sickle cell patients, just like sufferers of some other diseases, had the disease through no fault of theirs and should, therefore, be given all the needed support to manage their conditions properly, since there was currently no cure for it.
“How can people who have to visit hospital all the days of their lives live happily without the needed support from society?” he queried.
Mr Mensah said sickle cell was affecting many homes where, apart from the pain that patients went through, parents and guardians of such patients had to suffer financial, emotional and social strain to care for them.
He took the opportunity to appeal to patients of the disease and parents affected by the disease to come together to fight a good cause, adding that those who suffered from it and who had managed to make it in life should come out to tell their stories to encourage others.
For his part, a consultant to the federation, Mr Kojo Morgan, appealed to all Ghanaians, as well as the government and both local and international institutions, to commit themselves to alleviating the plight of sickle cell disease patients.
Mr Morgan, who said he had sicklers in his family, said many patients were forced to isolate themselves because of stigmatisation and called for support from all to reduce both the emotional and physical pain of patients.