Ijede community gets free sickle cell treatment
Residents of Ijede in Ikorodu community of Lagos State benefitted from a medical outreach held last Saturday by Sickle Cell Foundation Nigeria (SCFN), which was sponsored by Multichoice Nigeria. Speaking at the occasion, the foundation’s National Director, Dr. Annette Akinsete, said the annual outreach was aimed at deepening the awareness of sickle cell disease and […]
Residents of Ijede in Ikorodu community of Lagos State benefitted from a medical outreach held last Saturday by Sickle Cell Foundation Nigeria (SCFN), which was sponsored by Multichoice Nigeria.
Speaking at the occasion, the foundation’s National Director, Dr. Annette Akinsete, said the annual outreach was aimed at deepening the awareness of sickle cell disease and killing the scourge of same in the rural area of the state
She said: “This is one of the activities we have organized to mark the Sickle Cell Day to reach out to people in the communities’ mainly rural area, which are known as true Nigerians. We are not just creating the awareness about sickle cell but we want to debunk odds about the disease.”
Expressing appreciation over the compliance of the residents with the programme, she said, “We are to catch them when they are young , for them to know their status of their sickle cell, when they are still young before they go into relationship.”
Enlightening the residents on sickle cell disease, Dr. Ajibola Sanda, said the disease is hereditary, which is caused when two opposite of AS and AS mate ,adding that it cannot be contracted through any other means.
He said the symptoms of the disease include: swollen abodmen, stroke, leg ulcer, constant severe pain, hand foot syndrome, urging them to take note of anyone around them that showcases such disease.
A beneficiary of the SCFN, Mrs Waris Tosin, who spoke on behalf of the other beneficiaries of the free testing and drugs, commended Multichoice Nigeria for partnering with the foundation in enhancing knowledge about sickle cell anaemia in Nigeria.