Living with sickle cell disease: voices from sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

Sickle cell disease is sometimes wrongly considered as an African crisis or, at best, a disease affecting minority ethnic groups. However, it is a global crisis affecting millions of people throughout the world, irrespective of race or continent of origin, although it is common in people of African descent (including African Americans), people from Asia, including India, and Hispanic Americans. Globally, about 305 000 children are born with sickle cell disease every year, a quarter of sickle cell disease births worldwide are reported in Nigeria, and Tanzania records about 10 000 sickle cell disease births annually. In Ghana, about 15 000 newborns are diagnosed with sickle cell disease every year. South Africa has a low incidence of sickle cell disease compared with Nigeria, Ghana, and Tanzania, but this might be gradually changing due to immigration patterns from countries where sickle cell disease is more prevalent. SickleInAfricaOver the past 20 years, organised efforts in Africa have described and addressed the burden of sickle cell disease, with commendable achievements. However, there have been four limiting factors. First, there have been few multi-site, well described cohort studies of sickle cell disease in Africa. Second, there is no evidence yet that consistent standards of care are applied across Africa. Third, there are insufficient human resources, both in numbers and skills. Finally, there are few programmes exploring pertinent research questions related to sickle cell disease in Africa to guide locally appropriate interventions. Full-Text PDF