This is a significant milestone crossed as more than one crore people have been screened for Sickle Cell Disease under the National Sickle Cell Anaemia Elimination Mission.
A significant milestone has been crossed by India’s health ministry, the ministry announced on Tuesday as more than one crore people have been screened for Sickle Cell Disease under the National Sickle Cell Anaemia Elimination Mission.
The mission endeavors to screen a population of seven crore people in three years. Sickle cell disease is a genetic blood disease which affects the whole life of the affected patient. It is more common in the tribal population of India but occurs in non-tribals too.
The National Sickle Cell Anaemia Elimination Mission was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 1 July 2023 at Shahdol, Madhya Pradesh. The programme is being carried out in a mission mode for screening, prevention, and management of sickle cell anemia in all tribal and other high prevalent areas States/UTs of India. The focus is on 278 districts of 17 states with higher prevalence of Sickle Cell Disease, viz., Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Bihar and Uttarakhand.
