Dr. Ngozika Orjioke, a Nigerian-American critical care and pulmonary care physician, has urged the Nigerian government to pass a legislation requiring mandatory sickle cell genotype testing for newborns in the country.
She emphasized the importance of comprehensive newborn screening in early detection and effective management of sickle cell disease. Dr. Orjioke made these remarks in Lagos during the donation of Transcranial Doppler Ultrasound equipment to the Sickle Cell Foundation Nigeria by CMG Global Foundation, a health-focused organization she co-founded in Atlanta, United States.
She highlighted the foundation’s goal of enhancing healthcare in Nigeria through partnerships with government and private sector entities, particularly those with existing resources that can be leveraged.
The CMG Global Foundation was founded by four Atlanta-based physicians, including Dr. Akinloye Makanjuola, Dr. Alawode Oladele, Dr. Victor Okeh, and Dr. Orjioke.
Orjioke stated, “The lack of access to critical healthcare plagues a large part of our modern world as exposed by the impact of emerging diseases. CMG Global Foundation is dedicated to developing human resource capacity and building infrastructure in vulnerable communities where the lack of access to healthcare is the most pronounced.
“At CMG Global Foundation, we engage healthcare challenges, provide robust needs-based assessment tools, and network with strategic partners to address local health matters.
“Transcranial Doppler ultrasound equipment is used to measure blood flow to and within the brain to detect and prevent stroke in children with sickle cell disorder caused by a temporary state of reduced blood flow to the brain.”
She pinpointed that CMG Global Foundation was leveraging relationships with the Atlanta-Lagos Sister Cities projects and the Sickle Cell Foundation in Georgia to begin to change the narrative of sickle cell disease in Nigeria.
She further stated, “CMG Global Foundation’s goal in the sickle cell disease arena is to make TCD readily available in the six geo-political zones. The foundation will be partnering with Sky Vascular US-based group- to provide centralised training on the use of the equipment.
“It will be making more donations of the Transcranial Doppler Ultrasound equipment and training to other health care facilities across Nigeria in the coming months.
Commending the foundation for the donation, the Chief Executive Officer of Sickle Cell Foundation Nigeria, Dr Annette Akinsete, said the foundation had made tremendous progress since it was registered in 1994 from advocacy for the prevention of sickle cell, especially among intending couples to treatment and management to cure.
“ Yes we can now cure sickle cell disorder in children 100 per cent because we have a bone marrow transplant centre which is domiciled in the Lagos University Teaching Hospital just across the road being a facility that requires 24-hour care just like an ICU”, Akinsete explained.
According to her, Nigeria is the “global headquarters”
With more than 40 million Nigerians carrying the sickle cell disorder gene (Hb As) and over 150,000 children born annually with sickle cell anemia (Hb SS), Akinsete emphasized that many of these children will not live past age five due to limited access to early diagnosis and proper care.
She emphasized that sickle cell disorder is now treatable and manageable when detected early, underscoring the importance of pre-marital genotype testing and counseling provided by the Sickle Cell Foundation.
Akinsete urged prospective couples to utilize these services to prevent the physical, emotional, and financial burdens associated with having children with sickle cell disorder.
She also called for collaboration from religious, traditional, and community leaders to advocate for widespread pre-marital genotype testing and counseling to decrease the prevalence of sickle cell disorder in Nigeria.
