Over 150,000 Nigeria babies born with sickle cell yearly
(WorldNews Health)

Nigeria with over 180 million people has the largest burden of Sickle cell disorder in the world with over 150,000 babies born with the serious condition every year, where it causes millions of avoidable deaths and suffering, particularly in children, which some may perceived as a spiritual ailment known as `Ogbanje` in Igbo and Yoruba `Abiku`. Olu Akinyanju, chairman, Sickle Cell Foundation of Nigeria, said `one in four or over 40 million Nigerians are health carriers of the sickle cell gene- Haemoglobin AS (Hb AS) while 1 in 50 or over 150,000 children are born each year with sickle cell anaemia (Hb SS)`. World Health Organisation and United...