The article “Newborn screening for sickle cell disease in Africa” has been published on the Lancet Haematology journal.
It is focused on the newborn screening (NBS) for Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) just launched in Zambia at Arthur Davison Children’s Hospital in Ndola last April 2021. This is the first newborn screening for SCD and early therapeutic intervention programme within Zambia’s existing screening framework, as part of the ongoing American Society of Hematology’s Consortium on Newborn Screening in Africa (CONSA).
The author, Munyaradzi Makoni, highlights the huge value of early diagnosis and early-intervention therapies in reducing the burden of disease, preventing SCD complications associated with high rates of mortality, such as pneumococcal infection, acute malaria and acute splenic sequestration.
NBS for SCD has also started in Ghana, Nigeria and Uganda within the CONSA programme. In the Kaduna State, in Nigeria, the first two babies were screened at the special care baby unit of Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital Shika- Zaria, in April.
ARISE project has actively supported the implementation of this programme both in Zambia and Nigeria by strengthening their capacity to develop a sustainable NBS programme.
Discover more by reading the full article here.
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