The 19th of June has been earmarked as the World Sickle Cell day to create awareness about the blood disorder and encourage families of sufferers on how to best care for the sufferers of the condition. Sickle cell has been with us for a long time but it seems we are not yet ready to tackle the menace as a country. The data from the World Health Organization (WHO) is not impressive as it currently shows that about 100,000 Nigerian Babies die annually as a result of sickle cell anemia.
Several groups in the country have called on government to work towards its total eradication. However, despite the level of awareness that have taken place, we still have individuals that choose to enter marriages that will result in the birth of sickle cell babies. Several organizations and government agencies have embarked on awareness campaigns but the data suggests these campaigns are not working.
Thanks to advancements in science, many young Nigerians are entering into marriages that predispose them to birthing children with the condition. Is anything wrong with love? Absolutely nothing, but when we put our emotions over the potential quality of life of our children, we do so out of selfishness.
It is evident love is not enough when it comes to Sickle cell anemia, wisdom and obedience is paramount to eradicating the condition. It is possible for us as a nation to set a target year for total eradication of sickle cell anemia. The current figure from WHO is shocking, 100,000 babies annually is a loss too huge for the country and the affected families to bear.
