©AfreePress-(Lomé, le 22 juin 2023)-The world celebrated World Sickle Cell Day. It was Monday, June 19, 2023. In Togo, the event was marked by a meeting in Atakpamé in the prefecture of Ogou followed by an awareness caravan in the city’s arteries.
The initiative led by the NGO Compassion International Togo, aims to support the actions of the National Center for Research of Sickle Cell Care (CNRSD) in the fight against the disease.
According to available figures, sickle cell disease affects 50 million people worldwide, more than 38 million of whom live in sub-Saharan Africa. In Togo, more than 250 thousand people suffer from this disease and many more people do not know their real status.
Many myths continue to surround this disease and thus complicate the proper management of people suffering from sickle cell disease.
Among those affected by the disease are many children, half of whom die before the age of 5 and 80% before the age of 18.
This situation is of concern to the NGO Compassion International Togo, which took advantage of the celebration of this day to launch a screening campaign for sickle cell disease for the benefit of 9,700 beneficiaries.
This project, financed to the tune of 66,826,000 CFA francs, will be implemented in 15 health districts of the country.
“According to a study we conducted in September 2020 in 5 clusters of churches, partners of Compassion International Togo, 179 beneficiaries suffered from sickle cell disease, including 93 SC forms and 86 SS forms; 70% of parents and members of their communities are unaware of the disease ; 62.7% of parents in crisis use traditional treatment and 37.3% of children with sickle cell disease do not have access to quality care by qualified staff in case of crisis. In 2019, 96.6% of Child and Youth Development Centres (CDEJ) had recorded at least one case of death due to sickle cell disease. ” said Irénée Kodjovi GBEKOU, representing the National Director of Compassion International Togo.
As part of this intervention, it is planned to sensitize 3,000 parents or guardians and church actors and to train 12 health workers from Ogou, Anié and Amou districts on sickle cell disease; support for children with sickle cell disease; free counselling and screening for 600 children and young people and continuity of medical care.
The representative of the Minister of Health, Public Hygiene and Universal Access to Care, PEPEYI Sébastien Magnissibotom, after recalling the government’s efforts in the fight against chronic diseases including sickle cell disease, congratulated Compassion International Togo and partner churches for all the efforts made alongside the Togolese government to improve health indicators.
It should be noted that in addition to awareness-raising, a free screening session was organized for the populations of Atakpamé with the support of teams from the National Research Center for Sickle Cell Care.
