When I was young, I was told that sickle cell anaemia was a black man’s problem; there was no cure because the white man was not interested in finding one. That got me thinking; does it mean that my life is dependent on the white man? My having a good life is dependent on some white man somewhere, who if it pleases him would decide to help me or may decide not to. So it means my life is hanging on some unconcerned stranger's willingness to help or not to help me. No way; that's an error, I concluded.
When I was young, I was told that sickle cell anaemia was a black man’s problem; there was no cure because the white man was not interested in finding one. That got me thinking; does it mean that my life is dependent on the white man? My having a good life is dependent on some white man somewhere, who if it pleases him would decide to help me or may decide not to. So it means my life is hanging on some unconcerned stranger's willingness to help or not to help me. No way; that's an error, I concluded.
Consequently, I made up my mind that sickle cell will not limit me in life; it will not prevent me from being all that God has called me to be, white man or no white man; cure or no cure.
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People with sickle cell anaemia are like every other members of society, with dreams and aspirations, they want to be healthy, live to succeed in life, to love and be loved. We should start seeing the people behind the condition and not just the condition.
Sickle cell anaemia has remained a muted issue in our society; it is not talked about, rather it is swept under the carpet. We are treated like social lepers, people destined to die young and because of that some parents have abdicated their responsibilities to their affected children abandoning them to fate. Choosing to train the ones that ‘will not die’ rather than waste scarce families’ resources on the ‘to die’ one(s). Some families are living in denial thus denying their child the needed medical care, some say it’s not in their lineage or the common ‘it is not my portion’ attitude of Nigerians.
We were once rejoiced over, when we were considered bundles of joy at birth; we were and still are the products of love between our parents; we were answers to some prayers, when did it change? When did we become a curse or punishment rather than the blessing God designed us to be? Can we stop the stigmatization? It’s hurting us!
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Sickle cell anaemia has been among us for over a century, it was first documented in 1909 by James Henrrick though experts are of the opinion that it has been around much longer than that. It is predominantly, though not exclusively, a black race issue, and therefore, the onus lies on us to kick sickle cell out of our society. It’s time we braced up to the challenge, nobody is going to do it for us and the white man has his own problems, in case we are yet to notice; we shouldn’t wait for him to find a solution to our problem. As the most populous black nation on earth it is a responsibility we owe our future generation- a society free of sickle cell anaemia; call me a dreamer but I believe anything is possible.
We could start with a national sickle cell policy, let’s care for our own. The financial burden of sickle cell anaemia is tremendous; it has crippled the economy of some families. This could be ameliorated through government policies and programs.
Information is power; most of society's wrong attitude towards people with sickle cell anaemia is rooted in ignorance and fear. We fear what we don’t understand. There is need for increase in awareness about sickle cell anaemia at all levels especially with regards to prevention. People should be encouraged to know their genotype. Also people need to know what to do and how to help their affected loved ones.
June 19th of every year has been declared World Sickle Cell Day (WSCD), it is a day set aside by the
United Nations to create awareness about sickle cell issues at the national and global levels.
Today, 19th June, 2012, various sickle cell and health organisations all over the world are marking this event, find out the one nearest to you and how you can participate or support the activities. More so, you can learn a thing or two that will help you or a loved one.
If you are in Enugu State and its environs, you could join us today at the Golden Royale hotel, # 10 Bisalla road, Independence Layout, Enugu Nigeria for a seminar on sickle cell anaemia by 12 noon. Organised by Sickle Cell Club Enugu ([email protected]) and Cannon Sickle Cell Foundation Enugu.
Chidi Ikeakor.
[email protected]
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