Sickle Cell: Experts blame delay, poverty for warriors’ deaths
By Chidinma Ewunonu-Aluko, Ibadan As the world marks Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) Day on Friday, experts have warned that poor management of complications from the disorder killed more sickle cell warriors in later years. They noted that poverty, ignorance and delay were the real killers and not SCD itself. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), Sickle-Cell Disease (SCD) is a group of genetic (inherited) blood disorders, caused by a mutation in the HBB gene, affecting hemoglobin, the protein responsible for carrying oxygen in red blood cells. This defect causes the body to produce abnormal hemoglobin (the protein that carries oxygen in red blood cells) and because of this genetic anomaly, the red blood cells become rigid, sticky, and “sickle” (crescent-shaped). These misshapen cells block blood flow, resulting in a clinical disease known as Sickle Cell Disease (SCD). World SCD day is commemorated annually on June 19, with the 2026 theme as “Closing the Survival Gap: Equity ...