The Sickle Cell Club, Federal University Teaching Hospital (FUTH), Lafia chapter, has appealed to the hospital management to subsidize treatment for patients living with sickle cell anemia.
The club’s President, Abubakar Akwe, made the appeal on Wednesday in Lafia when he led other officials on a courtesy visit to the Chief Medical Director (CMD) of the hospital, Dr Hassan Ikrama.
Akwe said subsidizing treatment would ease the financial burden on patients and enable them to access quality healthcare services without being deterred by high costs.
He urged the hospital to consider subsidies for consultation, laboratory tests, essential medications, blood transfusions, hip replacement procedures and surgeries.
According to him, sickle cell anemia remains a major public health challenge in Nigeria, with many patients struggling to meet the cost of regular treatment.
Akwe also disclosed that the club planned to engage the Nasarawa State House of Assembly to enact legislation making premarital sickle cell screening mandatory and to provide subsidized treatment for people living with the condition.
He informed the CMD that the club’s officials at the hospital, led by him, were elected on June 19 with a mandate to improve the welfare and treatment of people affected by sickle cell anemia.
Earlier, Dr Ozhe Sunday, the initiator of the club at the hospital, commended the management for providing an enabling platform for its establishment.
Sunday said the club was established to raise awareness about sickle cell anemia, support patients and their families, and advocate policies that would improve care while reducing the financial burden associated with treatment.
He added that the visit reflected the hospital’s commitment to strengthening comprehensive and patient-centered care for people living with sickle cell anemia.
Responding, Ikrama thanked the club’s leadership for the visit and pledged the hospital management’s support for its activities.
The CMD assured the club that the hospital would work with its members to advance their plans for improved healthcare services and patient welfare.
source: NAN
