In a bid to raise awareness about sickle cell disorder and advocate for better healthcare for warriors, Couples and Kids Social Initiative has offered free genetic testing and counseling during a medical outreach in Iwaya, Yaba, Lagos.
The initiative, which was the second edition of the programme, targeted young women and teenagers in the underserved community to provide genetic information that would help them make informed decisions about marriage and family planning.
Tofunmi Adekola, co-founder of the Initiative, explained that the organisation was established to address family, genetic, economic, and social issues affecting Nigerian society.
“In Nigeria, we have about 150,000 people who are born with sickle cell disorder every year. Most of those babies don’t make it past the age of five because they are greatly affected by this disorder, and they don’t know how to manage it,” Adekola said.
She noted that the free genotype testing and counseling initiative was designed to reduce the number of babies born with sickle cell disorder by equipping people with genetic knowledge to make informed decisions.
During the Iwaya outreach, volunteers conducted rapid genetic tests that provided results within five minutes, enabling participants to know their genotype compatibility immediately.
Present at the event were Dr. Funmi Adekola, co-founder of the initiative, George, a representative of I-Lamp Initiative (another sickle cell-focused NGO that trains and mentors children living with the disorder); and Nurse Idowu, who was instrumental in conducting the professional tests.
The team also included a volunteer photographer who documented the outreach activities.
Adekola revealed that planning the second edition was more challenging than the first due to difficulties in partnering with local government authorities.
“We weren’t able to partner with the right local government authorities to plan this initiative. This is me calling out to local government areas. When NGOs want to partner, please make it easy for us because we are trying to do everything for the betterment of our community,” she said.
The organisation initially planned to hold the outreach in another location but eventually settled on Iwaya, Yaba, where they received a warm welcome from the community.
“The recipients were very eager to learn. They were very happy to see us and very grateful for our initiative and the knowledge we shared,” Adekola added.
The outreach included educational sessions aimed at debunking myths surrounding sickle cell disorder, as many people in such communities believe the condition is a death sentence or that those with the disorder should be avoided.
Adekola emphasized that Nigeria has the highest rate of people living with sickle cell disorder globally, with more than 30 percent of sickle cell warriors being Nigerian.
“Sickle cell disorder is actually an epidemic in Nigeria. People don’t talk about it, but Nigeria has the highest rate of people living with sickle cell disorder in the world,” she stated.
The initiative advocates for improved access to quality healthcare for people living with sickle cell disorder while working to reduce the numbers through increased awareness and genetic counseling.
The organisation plans to continue the programme in coming years until the numbers are significantly reduced and knowledge about sickle cell disorder management and healthcare becomes widespread across Nigerian communities.
The Couples and Kids Social Initiative hopes to secure more resources to reach thousands and potentially millions of people with genetic compatibility information and counseling services.
The outreach was founded by Dr. Funmi Adekola and Tofunmi Adekola, focusing on couples and children as the basic unit of society.