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Know sickle cell status before falling in love – Sickle cell advocate
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Prof. Otchere Addo
Young adults with intention to marry in future have been advised to check and know their sickle cell status before falling in love.
The Founder of the Sickle Cell Condition Advocates (SICCA), Ms Charlotte Owusu, who gave the advice said this was crucial to prevent people from marrying partners who have the sickle cell in their genes.
That, she noted, would expose them to the life-threatening implications of the Sickle Cell Disease (SCD).
“Some of the experiences SCD patients go through can be harrowing. We are advocating prevention of sickle cell which is the best. It is to know your status so that you don’t marry someone of the same status.
The religious bodies have a huge role to play. They are the people would-be couples to go for marriage counselling and when they detect sickle cell, they ask them not to marry but is that the right time? We must educate the people to screen before falling in love and disclose early in the relationship before it gets deep and difficult to pull out,” she explained.
Ms Owusu shared the advice with The Spectator at the launch of a National SCD policy to improve comprehensive and coordinated healthcare services for patients across the country.
The Founder, who shared her existed experience of the condition, having given birth to two SCD children, lost one and suffered a failed marriage, advised Ghanaians, especially the youth not to downplay the condition which poses health, economic and social burden.
“Prevention is key even though treatment like hydroxyurea, penicillin, folic acid and bone marrow transplant, among others are available,” she said.
One in four Ghanaians is to have the haemoglobin S or C gene, which indicates carriage of the sickle cell trait.
According to national estimates, nine out of 10 people in Ghana are unaware of their SCD status.
Meanwhile, about 15,000 to 20,000 babies are born with SCD in Ghana every year, representing two per cent of all live births.
One in every 50 children born in Ghana would have a sickle cell disease with 50 to 90 per cent of them dying before their fifth birthday
By Abigail Annoh
Construction of a major underground stormwater drain along the Dr. Busia Highway within the Kaneshie enclave will commence on September 7, 2026.
The Project Coordinator for the Greater Accra Resilient and Integrated Development (GARID) Project, Dr. Kwadwo Ohene Sarfo, announced this at a special media briefing on Wednesday.
According to him, the works will involve the construction of a double-cell underground rectangular drain measuring approximately 10 metres wide and 1.95 kilometres long, stretching from Pamprom Junction to First Light Junction.
The new drain will replace the existing two 1.2-metre diameter pipes, which are inadequate to carry the volume of stormwater in the area.
Dr. Sarfo said the drain will connect at one end to the recently completed section within the Accra Academy campus and at the other end to the existing drain at Pamprom Junction.
He said the construction is expected to run from September 2026 to October 2027.
The project forms part of government’s broader flood prevention and mitigation programme aimed at addressing perennial flooding in Accra.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
The former Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, has withdrawn from the party’s National Chairmanship race.
In a statement issued yesterday, Chairman Wontumi who is currently serving a 20-year jail term said his decision was driven by his love for the party and his unwillingness to let his personal circumstances distract the NPP from its rebuilding efforts.
“There are moments in the life of a man when the heart wants to continue, but duty demands sacrifice. Moments when one must quietly set aside personal ambition, not because the dream has died, but because the family he loves must not be made to carry his burden. Today, I find myself at such a painful moment,” he wrote.
He disclosed that after many nights of prayer, sober reflection and consultations with his family, legal team, party elders, campaign team and trusted supporters, he concluded that his present situation must not become an additional burden on the NPP.
“This is not the decision my heart desired, but sometimes, true love requires us to release what we deeply want in order to protect what we love even more,” he added.
Recounting his years of service, Chairman Wontumi said he had served the party with everything within him, walking through heat and rain, travelling to remote communities and standing with the grassroots in both victory and defeat.
“For many years, I have served the NPP with everything within me… The NPP is not merely a political party to me. It is my family. It is my home. It is a cause to which I have dedicated a significant part of my life,” he stated.
He explained that the party, already carrying the pain of electoral defeat and the huge responsibility of preparing for the future, should not be made to carry his personal weight.
“That is why I cannot allow my present situation or personal ambition to distract the party from the difficult work of rebuilding. I cannot ask the party to carry my weight when it is already carrying the pain of defeat and the enormous responsibility of preparing for the battle ahead. I would rather carry this pain quietly than allow the party I love to suffer because of me,” he said.
He further sympathized with his supporters across the 16 regions, acknowledging that the decision would be painful for many who had sacrificed for his campaign.
“To my teeming supporters across all sixteen regions, I know this message will hurt. I know many of you will read it with tears in your eyes because I understand the sacrifices you have made for this journey,” he said.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
