By Haruna Gimba
Sickle Cell Anaemia patients under the aegis of Sickle Cell Community, has called on the Kano state government and other philanthropists to come assist its members in the area of medication.
The President of the association, Asma’u Ahmad Rufa’i, made the call at a sensitization lecture to commemorate the World Sickle Day.
She said the members need assistance to reduce their sufferings and enable them access medication easily.
“The disease requires routine medication and follow-up which consumes a lot of money. With the current economic crunch in the country, many parents cannot afford the frequent treatment,” she said.
Asma’u said that the lecture was organized to create awareness among the patients on how to live a healthy lifestyle.
According to her, many of the patients are now in critical condition as a result of the failure to adhere strictly to the routine medication due to economic hardship.
Delivering a lecture, a Hematologist at the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH), Dr. Aminu Yusuf, advised couples to ensure they conducted genotype test before getting married to check the prevalence of the disease.
He said that the possible signs of the disease include body pain and yellow eyes, therefore he urged parents to rush their children to hospital as soon as the symptoms manifested.
Dr. Yusuf advised parents to frequently feed their children suffering from the disease with high energy food such as vegetables, in addition to giving patients enough water to keep their body strong.
