Bola Ojo and Stephanie Quirk, from GSTT, are currently carrying out their secondment in Kaduna State in Nigeria where they are involved in several activities focused on the implementation of the ARISE project in this country.
Communication and dissemination initiatives have been developed with the aim to achieve the ARISE objectives.
In this framework Bola and Stephanie along with Linda Yari, a nurse and midwife at the Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) clinic of the Sir Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa Memorial Hospital (Kaduna State, Nigeria) and ARISE secondee as well, participated in the Salama Radio 98.1FM interview in Kafanchan.
It was an occasion to present and talk about the ARISE project, in terms of partnership, objectives, and challenges in order to increase the awareness on the disease at the community level.
The main project mission is the implementation of a Newborn Screening Program in Nigeria and the sharing and the spreading of the best practices of diagnosis, treatment and management of the SCD as well, leading to the improvement in the overall disease outcome. To this aim an interagency and multidisciplinary training programme has been created within the ARISE partnership.
As underlined by Bola and Shephanie, considering the high incidence of the SCD in this country, it is crucial that in Kaduna State all babies are screened for SCD in order to ensure them the correct treatment and prevent the related disease complications, improving their quality of life.
Other initiatives on the community engagement will be conducted during the project.
You can watch the interview here!
