By Victor Adole | Project Leader
Every child deserves a healthy start in life, yet for thousands of babies born with sickle cell disease (SCD) in Nigeria, that opportunity is often lost before their first birthday.
GoGreen Environmental Health Sustainability Initiatives is preparing to launch a 12-month pilot project across Keffi, Karu, and Toto Local Government Areas of Nasarawa State to provide newborn genotype screening and enhanced vaccines for infants diagnosed with sickle cell disease.
Preparatory activities are currently underway, including stakeholder engagement with healthcare providers, identification of partner laboratories, community sensitization planning, and the development of referral pathways to ensure babies diagnosed with SCD receive timely care.
The need is urgent. Nigeria records an estimated 150,000 babies born with sickle cell disease every year—the highest number in the world. Without early diagnosis and appropriate preventive care, studies estimate that 50–90% of affected children in sub-Saharan Africa may die before the age of five, often from preventable infections and complications. Early newborn screening, timely vaccination, and appropriate follow-up care can dramatically improve survival and quality of life.
With donor support, this project will remove financial barriers by funding genotype testing and enhanced vaccines for vulnerable newborns, giving children the chance to survive, grow, and thrive.
Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.
If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can receive an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.
Support this important cause by creating a personalized fundraising page.
Start a Fundraiser