SICKLE CELL ANAEMIA MISSION - SICKLE CELL DISEASE

 India is a country of diversity, and unity in diversity is our identity. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given the mantra of “One India, Great India” to maintain this diversity. We are envisioning an India where every Indian is concerned about having a life of quality. Continuous efforts are being made by the Government of India to ensure that the benefits of the country’s advanced healthcare facilities reach every individual, even those on the bottom rungs of the social ladder.

In India, there are approximately 706 different tribal communities, which constitute 8.6 per cent of the total population. Our tribal population is an integral part of our country’s rich cultural heritage. PM Modi has said, “the past, present, and future of India will never be complete without the indigenous communities.” The Government of India is fully committed to the health and development of the tribal population as a national priority, taking into account their ethical values, traditions, socio-economic conditions, and tribal organisations.

Sickle cell disease is a serious health challenge in India’s tribal population. Sickle cell is a genetic disorder in which a person’s red blood cells become distorted and take on a sickle-like shape. This disease is commonly found among tribal communities. It poses a significant threat to the future and existence of our indigenous populations, and it is imperative to prevent the spread of this disease in a timely manner. We have now decided to address this in a holistic manner.

, in the central Budget for the financial year 2023-24, announced the launch of the national campaign “Sickle Cell Anaemia Elimination Mission 2047” to eradicate this challenge of sickle cell.

Sickle cell disease exists in two forms within the human body. One is the Sickle Cell trait, in which the individual does not exhibit any disease or symptoms, and lives a normal life. The second form is characterised by the presence of symptoms related to sickle cell disease. In 13 states of the country, namely Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, and Maharashtra, there is a high prevalence of this disease, and in four states of the country, namely Bihar, Assam, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh, there is a partial prevalence of sickle cell disease.

A person suffering from Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) faces numerous health problems, including persistent pain, fatigue, and anaemia, which significantly impact their quality of life. Efforts are being made to eliminate Sickle Cell Anaemia through two approaches. The first approach focuses on prevention, ensuring that new cases are not born, while the second approach involves managing the treatment and providing adequate healthcare facilities for individuals already affected by the disease. A comprehensive ecosystem is being developed to address these aspects and ensure access to proper healthcare and management for Sickle Cell Anaemia patients.

If two individuals with Sickle Cell trait marry each other, there is a high probability that their child will have Sickle Cell disease. By screening individuals for Sickle Cell trait before marriage, the spread of the disease can be prevented. The Ministry of Health, in collaboration with the Ministry of Tribal Affairs and the states, has formulated a plan to screen approximately 70 million individuals aged 0-40 years belonging to tribal and other groups residing in nearly 200 districts of 17 states within the next few years.

Through the Ayushman Bharat scheme, the country has established a network of 1.6 lakh Health and Wellness Centres since 2018, which has played a crucial role in combating epidemics like Covid19. These centres will also play a significant role in eradicating sickle cell disease along with other diseases. We have trained healthcare workers in these centers to provide better treatment for sickle cell patients.

  • SICKLE CELL ANAEMIA MISSION

  • Mission: To improve care of all Sickle Cell Disease patients for their better future and to lower the prevalence of the disease through multi-faced coordinated approach towards screening and awareness strategies

  • Vision: Eliminate sickle cell disease as a public health problem in India before 2047 there is need for increasing the awareness about the disease in the community, implementation of mass screening activities for early identification, building a strong network of diagnosis and linkages, implementing robust monitoring system, strengthening the existing primary health care mechanism to incorporate SCD related strategies, capacity building of primary, secondary and tertiary health care teams and building cost-effective intensive interventions at higher care facilities.


The overall aim is to enable access to affordable and quality health care to all SCD patients, and to lower the prevalence through awareness, change of practices and screening interventions.

Objectives of the Mission:

  • Provision of affordable and accessible care to all SCD patients

  • To ensure quality of care for SCD patients

  • To reduce the prevalence of SCD

These objectives would be attained through strategies spanning awareness generation, strengthening of screening and testing facilities, strengthening of laboratory services for diagnosis, facilitation of management & treatment, establishing linkages across level of care, inter sectoral convergence towards holistic approach and linkages with social security schemes/benefit packages. Strategy: The strategy emphasizes on THREE pillars:


  • Health promotion- Awareness generation & pre-marital genetic counselling

  • Prevention: Universal screening and early detection

  • Holistic Management & continuum of care-

    1. Management of persons with sickle cell disease at primary, secondary and tertiary health care levels; treatment facilities at tertiary health care facilities

    2. Patient support system

    3. Community adoption


Beneficiaries: The program shall be carried out in a mission mode covering the entire population from zero to 18 years of age and shall incrementally include the entire population up to 40 years as a part of National Health Mission and shall focus on universal population-based screening, prevention, and management of sickle cell anemia in all tribal and other high prevalent areas States/UTs of India. While in its initial stage, the mission would prioritize its intervention in high prevalence and tribal states/UT, the plan would subsequently expand to include all states/UTs in a phase-wise manner with an incremental approach. The mission aims to cover 7 crore people with screening, counselling for prevention and care for people with SCD in three and half years.


Initially, the focus shall be on 17 states with higher prevalence of SCD viz., Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Bihar and Uttarakhand. The programme would be in integration with existing mechanism and strategies under NHM to ensure utilization of existing resources and also minimizing the duplication of efforts. For example, established platform of RBSK and Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan (PMSMA) would be leveraged to achieve the targets for the Sickle Cell mission.

Overview image

Sickle cell anemia is one of a group of inherited disorders known as sickle cell disease. It affects the shape of red blood cells, which carry oxygen to all parts of the body.

Red blood cells are usually round and flexible, so they move easily through blood vessels. In sickle cell anemia, some red blood cells are shaped like sickles or crescent moons. These sickle cells also become rigid and sticky, which can slow or block blood flow.

There's no cure for most people with sickle cell anemia. Treatments can relieve pain and help prevent complications associated with the disease.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

MAHATMA GANDHI INSPIRES FROM AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE STRUGGLE - ONE LEARNS FROM HISTORY

Image
 On July 4, America celebrates their hard won victory from the oppressive tax system of the British Empire. On this day, about two and a half centuries back, the 13 states of North America, which was part of the British Empire had declared themselves independent and formed the United States of America. The American struggl e for independence was definitely very different from nationalist uprisings in other colonies of the British in the East . In America it was the British settlers who entered into a bitter scuffle with British government authorities. In his call to Indians to resist British domination, Mahatma Gandhi often referred to and drew inspiration from the American revolution. On January 4th, 1932, when Gandhi was actively propagating ‘Satyagraha’, he wrote the following message in his weekly journal, ‘Young India ’ “Even as America won its independence through suffering, valour and sacrifice, so shall India, in God’s good time achieve her freedom by suffering, sacri...
Read more

NASA - X-59

Image
  NASA's experimental X-59 aircraft outside a hangar. NASA’s experimental ‘silent’ supersonic jet X-59 moves into flight line The space agency on Wednesday released a sequence of images showing its experimental X-59 aircraft sitting on the flight line at the Lockheed Martin Skunk Works in California. The flight line refers to the space between the hangar and the runway . The aircraft is designed to demonstrate technology that will allow supersonic flight while reducing the sonic boom to a “quiet sonic thump, ” according to NASA. Front view of the X-59 aircraft. “ Sonic boom” refers to the sound that is associated with shock waves created when an object travels faster than the speed of sound . The sound that you hear when a whip is cracked is like a miniature version of the sonic boom. But the sonic boom of flights can generate massive amounts of energy, sounding like an explosion or a thunderclap . can also cause some damages to structures, like shattering glass and more . This...
Read more

10 lessons that we could learn from UKRAINE-RUSSIA WAR

  No two wars are alike . Studying the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict may, however, offer some insights as to its changing nature, the impact of new technologies and new dimensions of strategy. At least 10 military lessons can be enumerated. First, unstable deterrence upended by big-power geopolitical conflict is inherently escalatory . How well Russia fares on the battlefield remains key to the fate of Ukraine as an independent state and the future of NATO. Given the high stakes, all parties to the conflict are in escalation mode, with its consequential deeply worrying risks. Short of membership, NATO may double down on supporting Ukraine. Second, prolonged wars are more than stalemated wars due to their escalating aims . For some in our expert-community, long used to analysing American wars fought in easy combat environments, Russia’s ability to defy numerous predictions of its defeat has come as a surprise. Counting on Russia’s defeat has been a bad bet. Third, prolonged wars...
Read more