The Sierra Leone Sickle Cell Society over the weekend held its first quarter meeting with the attendance of its key clients, parents and strategic sponsors at the Society's Head Office along Thomas Street in Freetown. The National Coordinator of the Society, Madam Amelia Eva Gabba, gave a summary of the 2023 operational year and deliberated on how best the society was able to achieve key activities and assistance to clients despite some challenges in the country.
Madam Gabba submitted that the programme implementation for 2023 continued with routine essential services like maintenance treatment, confirmation of Genotype, Genetic counselling, health education on nutrition, personal hygiene, environmental sanitation, immunizations, and malaria control.
She added that referrals are still being sent to the Ola During Children's Hospital, Kingharman Road Maternal and Child Care hospital, and the Connaught hospital, which are Teaching Hospitals for specialized treatment and care. Even though there has been no Incidence of the COVID -19 for the year 2023, necessary Infection Prevention Control measures were taken and still been maintained for control reasons. She added that a total referral during 2023 were two hundred and ninety clients (290), referred to the referral hospitals and other facilities whilst 225 were referred to RAMSY for the genotype confirmation tests and other lab investigations, sixteen 16) to the Diagnostic Clinic for X rays and Scans, thirty-nine (39) were referred to the Connaught hospital, 19 to the Ola During Children's Hospital for specialized care, and 7 to the King Harman Road Ante Natal Clinic.
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The Society is still working with twenty schools; the hard-to-reach Secondary schools which are not functioning have been replaced with Primary schools within the Catchment Areas of our centers to enhance accessibility and to catch them early.
Dr. And Mrs. Tregson Roberts are founders and key sponsors of the Sierra Leone Sickle Cell Society who are presently outside of the country promoting the care for patients living with the sickle cell disease in the country. The Sierra Leone Sickle Cell Society was established as a result of the sickle cell Mrs. Roberts possesses. She spoke with hope consoling patients and parents that with proper care one can leave a healthy life with sickle cell disease.
During the meeting, Yanditina Conteh, a Patient thanked Dr. and Mrs Robert for the help they have been providing towards sickle cell patients in the country. She gave a testimony of how she was healed by the sickle cell organisation through the dedicated efforts of the national Coordinator, Mrs. Gabba.
A parent, Salmata Bah, thanked the Society and the donors for helping them greatly towards the sickle cell conditions of their children. She reiterated that parents should not neglect their children because they possess sickle cells as the illness can be managed and patients live a healthy life.
Umu Yatunde Mansaray, a teacher noted that Sickle cell is not the end of one's life and he further discouraged the act of stigma in schools against patients and people living with sickle cell disease.
Both Dr. and Mrs Robert pledged their continued support whilst overseas to other potential sponsors towards the Sierra Leone Sickle cell Society especially when they are now retiring.
