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PORT HARCOURT – A non-governmental organisation (NGO), the Sickle Cell Awareness Initiative Ireland–Nigeria (SCAIIN), has rolled out an awareness campaign to address widespread stigma, ignorance, and misinformation about sickle cell disorder in Nigeria.
The one-day medical outreach is aimed at ending the persistent cycle of pain, stigma, and silence through research-based advocacy, public education, and community engagement.
Speaking at the campaign’s launch on Friday at the Rivers State University Teaching Hospital, Port Harcourt, SCAIIN founder, Mrs Esther Pepple Onolememen, said the initiative seeks to improve health outcomes for people living with sickle cell disorder while building public confidence and support for patients and their families.
Onolememen stressed that sustained awareness and early intervention remain crucial to reducing the burden of sickle cell disorder in the country, noting that ignorance and social stigma continue to compound the challenges faced by those affected.
She said: “Together, we are rewriting the story of sickle cell in Nigeria from silence to knowledge, from stigma to support, and from neglect to action.”
Onolememen commended the NDDC for its investment in public health and for acknowledging that sickle cell disease is not only a medical challenge but also a social and developmental concern.
She urged the Federal Government to take a proactive step by introducing a national newborn screening programme, describing it as a critical first step toward comprehensive planning and effective care for sickle cell disease in Nigeria..
