Murtala Mohamed Kamara, AfricaNews reporter in Freetown, Sierra Leone
The World Health Organization (WHO), said that Nigeria accounts for 75% of infant sickle-cell cases and almost 80% of infant deaths in Africa. The figures released by the WHO state that over 2,000 infants are born with sickle-cell in Africa and Nigeria accounts for 1500 of them.
Mr. Sadiq Wali, president of the Nigerian Sickle-cell Foundation told the Humanitarian Integrated Regional Information Network ( IRIN) that the sickle-cell genetic disorder kills over one thousand children each year.
According WHO of the 2000 children born with the disease 60% will die as infants. An expert says sickle-cell disorder is an incurable disease which is widespread on the continent and African descendants worldwide.
Sufferers have no visible symptoms but periodically experience severe pain and are also highly prone to anemia because the blood cells break down after only 10-20 days, rather than the usual four months.
Sickle-cell anemia is heredity and can be passed from parents to the newly born child. This genetic disorder alone accounts for 8 percent of infant mortality in Nigeria which calls for urgent attention, Wali said.
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