Oyo, group decry Nigeria’s 150,000 sickle-cell births yearly burden

Oyo State Government and Seyifara Foundation have raised the alarm over the scale of preventable suffering associated with sickle-cell disease in the country, calling for compulsory genotype awareness, pre-marital counselling and early education beginning from secondary school.
 
The foundation also appealed to the National Assembly to consider legislation on sickle cell disease that would encourage collaboration between relevant government institutions and religious bodies, with a view to promoting stricter premarital screening and compliance among intending couples.
 
Raising the concern at an awareness program in Ibadan over the weekend, officials said Nigeria’s estimated 150,000 sickle-cell births every year remain a stark indicator of weak preventive culture, poor public understanding and late policy response to a largely avoidable genetic condition.
 
The event, themed “Know your genotype, know your power,” was organized by the Oyo State Ministries of Health and Education, Science and Technology, in collaboration with Seyifara Foundation.
 
Speakers stressed that although sickle-cell disorder SCD) is inherited, many of its health, social and economic consequences could be prevented if genotype knowledge became a routine part of life planning for young Nigerians.
 
Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, Dr Akintunde Ayeni, warned that ignorance rather than inevitability continues to fuel Nigeria’s SCD crisis.
Founder of Seyifara Foundation, Oluwaseyi Adediran, said the organization was shifting focus to young people, arguing that genotype awareness must move from “marriage counselling halls to classrooms.”
 
Adediran said, “Starting from secondary school, we want young people to understand their genotype early. This is how we reduce deaths and the long-term burden of illness.”
 
He described early education as critical not only to prevention but also to preparing Nigeria’s health system for future pressures posed by non-communicable genetic disorders.
 
Disclosing details of an upcoming intervention, members of the Foundation’s Board of Directors, Adeniran Adediran and Lawal Olayiwola, said Seyifara Foundation, in partnership with the Oyo State Government, would embark on a six-month sickle-cell awareness campaign targeted at secondary school students in Ibadan.

According to them, the program, scheduled to run from January to June 2026, will focus on sensitization, peer education and youth-led advocacy, with a strong emphasis on reducing stigma faced by people living with SCD.
 
As part of the intervention, the Foundation will distribute Information, Education and Communication (IEC) materials and establish “Genotype and Friendship Clubs” in each school to sustain peer-to-peer learning and dialogue beyond the campaign period.

Click The Guardian News – LINK