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Know sickle cell status before falling in love – Sickle cell advocate
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
The Diaspora Affairs Office at the Office of the President has hosted a delegation of African diaspora women who are in Ghana ahead of a planned Presidential Conferment of Citizenship ceremony.
The Director of Diaspora Affairs, Kofi Okyere Darko, explained in a Facebook post that the visit was a gesture of appreciation by the delegation to the Government of Ghana for its continued efforts to reconnect Africans in the diaspora with their ancestral homeland.
He indicated that the ceremony, scheduled for next Monday, will officially grant Ghanaian citizenship to members of the delegation as part of the country’s broader engagement with the African diaspora.
The delegation was led by Erica Bennett, Founder of the Diaspora Africa Forum.
According to Mr Okyere Darko, her years of advocacy have played an important role in strengthening ties between Africa and people of African descent living abroad.
He noted that the group’s journey towards citizenship represents not only a legal process but also a cultural and spiritual return to their roots.
Also present at the meeting was Natalie Jackson, an attorney who is also expected to receive Ghanaian citizenship during the ceremony. She works closely with renowned civil rights lawyer Ben Crump.
Mr Okyere Darko emphasised that Ghana remains committed to strengthening relationships with the African diaspora and promoting unity, identity, and shared heritage among people of African descent worldwide.
By: Jacob Aggrey
Ghana has signed a debt restructuring agreement with the Kingdom of Belgium as part of efforts to restore the country’s economic stability after the financial crisis that hit the nation in 2022 and 2023.
The Minister of Finance, Cassiel Ato Forson, today disclosed that he signed the agreement on behalf of the Government of Ghana.
He explained that Ghana experienced a very difficult period during the crisis, which forced the government at the time to declare a debt default.
However, he indicated that the country is now recovering and witnessing a significant economic turnaround.
According to him, stronger systems are also being put in place to ensure that Ghana does not return to such a situation again.
Dr Forson noted that the agreement with Belgium is the eighth deal Ghana has concluded with countries under the Official Creditor Committee as part of its external debt restructuring programme.
He expressed appreciation to the Government of Belgium for its support and partnership with Ghana during the process.
The Finance Minister thanked Carole van Eyll, Ambassador of Belgium to Ghana, for her role in strengthening relations between the two countries.
The agreement forms part of Ghana’s broader effort to restructure its external debts and stabilise the economy following the crisis.
By: Jacob Aggrey
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