{"id":1050,"date":"2022-11-02T11:03:58","date_gmt":"2022-11-02T11:03:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wellahealth.com\/blog\/?p=1050"},"modified":"2022-11-07T09:44:56","modified_gmt":"2022-11-07T09:44:56","slug":"sickle-cell-anemia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wellahealth.com\/blog\/sickle-cell-anemia\/","title":{"rendered":"Why is Sickle Cell Anemia Common in Nigeria"},"content":{"rendered":"

“At a very young age, my parents were encouraged by others to let me die because I was not a perfect child, I was a child with sickle cell anemia. My father left his job and stayed home to take care of me for about 2 years, then my mother did the same for another 2 years. Each summer, I was sent to the United States for treatment and rest while my senior brother took great care of me. I was one of the lucky ones’ ‘ – this is Julia Aruya’s story, a sickle cell warrior, as shared on the Sickle Cell information center, a 37-year-old Nigerian. She went ahead to discuss how difficult it was for her to associate and operate effectively in her workplace. She had been through years of mental anguish as a result of stigmatization from her environment.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This story of Julia is also the story of another 4-6 million Nigerians living with sickle cell anemia.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Why is sickle cell <\/b>anemia <\/b>common in Nigeria?<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Nigeria has the highest burden of Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) in the world and is also the top sickle cell endemic country in Africa, with an annual infant death of about 150,000 representing more than eight percent (8%) of infant mortality in the country.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

About 50 million people are living with sickle cell disease globally and Nigeria is the epicenter zone with about 4-6 million people living with the disease (1 in every 4 Nigerians has a sickle cell trait). Annually about 300,000 newly diagnosed sickle cell children are born worldwide. And at least 100,000 babies die from the disorder in Nigeria every year according to 2014 statistics by the World Health Organisation (WHO)<\/a>, making it the number one sickle-cell endemic country in Africa.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sickle Cell is endemic in Nigeria\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n

The negativity that comes from Nigeria as a result of having sickle cell can kill you emotionally. It is believed that you are disabled already if you have sickle cell, you have got a deadly disease and nobody marries a sickler. Nigerian society lacks these three (3) things;\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Lack of awareness\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Empathy and understanding for sickle cell warriors and the situation explains why they are still being \u2018discriminated\u2019 against.<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. Adequate health facilities for treatments. Hence, why most people send their sickle cell children abroad to get treatment. But, what happens when it’s not someone who can afford that?<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Society has close to zero awareness policies. Couples don\u2019t do thorough medical checkups before getting married. People are being stigmatized because there is no proper understanding of what sickle cell anemia is. The stigma is that if you have got sickle cell, they have already put a death sentence on you, or you are a child of evil. They always have that look of pity.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Sickle cell warriors also lack adequate information on how to take care of themselves to, at least, reduce the impact of the disorder on their well-being. There needs to be an understanding of what sickle cell is all about and this knowledge should be spread across various societies.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Meaning\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n

    Sickle cell anemia disease is an inherited blood disorder marked by defective hemoglobin. It inhibits the ability of hemoglobin in red blood cells to carry oxygen. Sickle cells tend to stick together, blocking small blood vessels and causing painful and damaging complications. Sickle cell anemia is a form of anemia \u2014 a condition in which there are not enough healthy red blood cells to transport adequate oxygen throughout the body. Hemoglobin is the protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen to the tissues of the body.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    So, sickle cell disease interferes with the delivery of oxygen to the tissues. Normal red blood cells can live up to 120 days. But, sickle cells only live for about 10 to 20 days.<\/span><\/p>\n

    What causes Sickle cell disease?<\/b><\/h2>\n

    This is an inherited disease caused by defects in the gene. A person can be born with it if he\/she inherits two sickle cell genes, one from the father, and the other from the mother. Having a family history of sickle cell disease increases your risk for the disease.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Symptoms and signs<\/b><\/h2>\n

    Here are the symptoms and complications associated with sickle cell disease. However, each person may experience symptoms differently. Such symptoms include<\/span><\/p>\n