Luanda – Angola’s Ministry of Health (MINSA) said it will increase the screening coverage for sickle cell disease in the country's 18 provinces.
The plan was announced Friday by the State Secretary for Public Health, Carlos Pinto Sousa, who said that the move is meant to improve combat and create plans for hematological diseases.
Delivering his speech, at the opening ceremony of Workshop on Sickle Cell Diseases, the official mentioned the largest study on the disease conducted between 2011 and 2020.
The study, he said, which covered the provinces of Luanda and Cabinda and also aimed to cover the other 16 provinces, was conducted under the partnership with Chevron, in compliance with the guidelines of the Regional Committee of the World Health Organisation for the prevention and control of the disease.
He also said the study enabled to test of 400,000 newborn children and of these number around 11,000 were detected with this disease and 91,000 are carriers of the disease, accounting for 2.24% of patients and 18% are carriers.
“In view of the results, the Minsa outlined its action plan which involves increasing the coverage of newborns screening for all provinces, intensifying access to medical care and medicines such as hydroxyurea”, he reinforced.
The disease affects millions of people worldwide and according to United Nations estimates, there are between 20 and 25 million people living with Sickle Cell Anemia in the world.
Of this number, 75% live in the African continent and 50% of children under five years old affected by the disease are at risk of dying before reaching the age of five.
For ten Years, Luanda Pediatric Hospital has been reporting more than a thousand cases of sickle cell anemia annually. ML/ART/CF/NIC
