By Lisa Lamya

Blantyre, June 20, Mana: World Health Organization (WHO) Africa region has released new groundbreaking guidance to help strengthen efforts to address the growing threat of sickle cell disease in the continent.

In a statement, Director of Universal Health Coverage/Communicable and Non-Communicable Diseases Programme at WHO Africa, Dr Benido Impouma said that, “This guidance for countries will serve as a valuable new addition to their toolkit.

“Specifically, because the guidance is tailored to the African reality, where a multi-faceted approach is key.”

The Statement stated that despite notable advances in sickle cell treatment globally, including newborn screening, hydroxyurea therapy, gene therapy, improved management strategies and expanded immunization programmes that have reduced mortality rates in higher-income countries, significant challenges remain in ensuring equitable access to these treatments in low and middle-income countries, particularly in the African region.

Statistics from the WHO indicate that an estimated 240,000 children on the continent are born with sickle cell disease annually and that up to 80 percent of whom will die from severe infections or acute chest syndrome before age five, the highest sickle cell disease-related childhood death rate worldwide.

WHO Africa has been at the forefront in the fight against sickle cell disease since 2010, focusing its efforts on, among other things, disease interventions and their scale-up and access to innovative treatment technologies and medicines.