Sickle cell patients seek availability of their routine drugs in public hospitals
People living with sickle cell anaemia in Kaduna State have sent what they tagged ‘save-our-soul’ message to Governor Nasir El-Rufai; begging him to help make their everyday drugs available at public hospitals across the state They made the appeal when a sickle cell support group, Bako Youth Development Foundation, paid a courtesy visit on the […]
Kaduna State Governor Nasir El’ Rufai
People living with sickle cell anaemia in Kaduna State have sent what they tagged ‘save-our-soul’ message to Governor Nasir El-Rufai; begging him to help make their everyday drugs available at public hospitals across the state
They made the appeal when a sickle cell support group, Bako Youth Development Foundation, paid a courtesy visit on the office of the Commissioner of Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajiya Hafsat Baba.
The Executive Director of the Foundation, Andy Bako urged the state government to make drugs such as Paludrine, Folic Acid, B-Complex and multivitamins among others available in all public hospitals.
He also suggested that just like it is done for people living with HIV/AIDs, government should put in place a policy that will wave all payments for people with sickle cell anaemia as well as encourage youths to go for genotype test in hospitals which should be made free of charge to encourage access
“One of the ways the state government can help people living with sickle cell anaemia is to empower them to become self-reliant so that they can be able to foot their medical bills. Paludrine, which is one of the drugs we take every day is unavailable in government hospitals and the cost in the open market is high for most of us. So also is the cost of laboratory investigations which includes blood transfusion,”
He however appealed to government to empower sickle cell anaemia sufferers to enable them meet up with their medical bills. “Most of us are jobless because of the circumstances we find ourselves. Also because we have to take our drugs regularly and go to the hospitals when in crisis; we find it difficult to meet up with the bills due to poverty,” Bako lamented.
Responding, the Women affairs commissioner, Hajiya Hafsat Baba expressed that she understands their plight; promising to help where she could to put smile on their faces. She also said she would collaborate with the commissioner for health and human services to see the possibility of coming up with a memo that will demand specific budget line for sickle cell anaemia patients in the state.
She however appealed to young persons to ensure they know their genotype before falling in love and getting married. This she said will go a long way in addressing the issue of giving birth to children with the disease.