Alarmed by Nigeria’s high rate of sickle cell-related deaths, the Senate has taken a decisive step towards improving care for patients by passing for second reading a bill to establish Sickle Cell Disorder (SCD) Research and Therapy Centres across the country.
The proposed legislation seeks to drastically cut Nigeria’s sickle cell mortality rate by creating one specialised centre in each of the six geo-political zones and the Federal Capital Territory. The centres will serve as hubs for diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation, research, and public education.
Leading debate on the bill, sponsor Senator Sunday Katung said the initiative would provide a structured, sustainable response to one of the most common inherited disorders in Africa.
“The bill seeks to establish Sickle Cell Centres in each of the six geo-political zones in Nigeria and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, and make comprehensive provisions for the due administration of the centres,” Katung explained.
He added that beyond advanced medical care, the centres would support families and communities through counselling and sustained public awareness.
Citing data to underscore the urgency, Katung described Nigeria as the global epicentre of sickle cell disorder, accounting for nearly half of the world’s 300,000 newborns with the disease each year.
“Sickle Cell Disorder is the most common inherited disease in tropical Africa, with over 650 children dying daily. In Nigeria, most of those with the most severe form of the disorder die before the age of five,” he lamented.
While over 90 per cent of patients in high-income countries now survive into adulthood due to improved treatment, he noted that Nigeria continues to record unacceptably high mortality rates because it lags in diagnostic and therapeutic interventions.
“Despite tremendous global scientific progress, Nigeria still records a very high rate of SCD complications and deaths because we have not fully implemented the treatment models that have worked elsewhere,” he said.
Supporting the bill, Senator Osita Ngwu described it as “timely and lifesaving”, noting that ignorance about genotype compatibility remains a major cause of the disease. “This bill will go a long way in providing therapy and saving lives,” he said.
Senator Abdulfatah Buhari called for stronger enlightenment campaigns, especially in rural areas, to guide potential couples on genotype compatibility. “Most people don’t even know who to marry in terms of genotype compatibility,” he added.
Also backing the bill, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan suggested that the proposed centres be integrated with university teaching hospitals to strengthen research efforts and reduce establishment costs.
Presiding, Deputy Senate President Jibrin Barau referred the bill to the Senate Committee on Health for further legislative action.
