Filling the data gaps on sickle cell anaemia in sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

Although sub-Saharan Africa is the epicentre of sickle cell anaemia globally, until recently, the disease has been widely neglected within the region. During the late 1990s, mortality in children younger than 5 years in sub-Saharan Africa was close to 200 per 1000 livebirths,1 and consequently, an incurable disease such as sickle cell anaemia affecting ten per 1000 children was not a priority. However, with many sub-Saharan African countries going through a period of epidemiological and demographic transition, overall child mortality is declining rapidly and provision of better care for children born with sickle cell anaemia has now become a necessity.