Sickle Cell Screening

The Ministry of Health is exploring the establishment of a sickle cell disease register in the country.
CAS for health Dr Mercy Mwangangi says the register will help in collecting data on the disease.
Mwangangi says data and information on the disease is very critical in informing on programming how to tackle the disease.
“Once we have the data, we will then be able to account for resources and put resources on the table,”she said.
She says the registry will come with it an electronic medical health record system.
Mwangangi was speaking in Kisumu on Tuesday when she opened a new born sickle cell screening centre at Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral hospital.
The sickle cell disease management and care project is a partnership between county government of Kisumu and Norvatist East Africa.
Mwangangi further noted  the country’s strategic plan health that runs up to 2026 prioritize screening on such diseases.
Responding to a testimony by a student suffering from sickle cell disease, Mwangangi says schools, especially those at the management requires sensitization on the disease.
“It is a call up to ourselves as the goverment through the Ministry of Education to make our teachers aware of this disease,” she said.
She says new born sickle cell disease screening is a life saving intervention which the health system must support.
Mwangangi announced that the MoH is in talks with the National Insurance Hospital Fund (NIHF) to have the disease adequately covered.
She says rapid screening kits are available at an affordable rates and urged Kenyans to grab the opportunity to frequently do screenings.