A coalition of lobby groups, caregivers and people living with Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) has petitioned the Kisumu County Assembly to declare the condition a public health emergency and to urgently integrate its management into the county's health policies and annual development planning.
In their petition, the stakeholders outlined a comprehensive set of demands to address what they described as a "silent killer", a manageable condition that continues to rob families of children, breadwinners, and hope due to lack of timely interventions.
According to recent data cited in the memorandum, approximately two out of every hundred children born in Kisumu County have SCD, while twenty-one percent carry the sickle cell trait.
Studies conducted at Kisumu County Referral Hospital Hospital (KCRH) further reveal a 13.9 percent prevalence of the trait among newborns, figures that stakeholders argue should serve as a wake-up call to the county government.
