Liberian doctor initiates fight against Sickle Cell
An American-based Liberian Medical Doctor, Venee Tubman, has embarked on an initiative to test every baby born in Liberia for sickle cell disease. Speaking recently at the launch of the campaign “Kick sickle cell out of Liberia” in Sinkor, Monrovia, Dr. Tubman said she has been back home since 2008 and is currently at the John F. Kennedy Hospital to help her country.
According to her, early treatment for sickle cell helps to save lives, saying, if the babies are tested and treated at an early stage, it would help to save many lives. The Liberian Doctor, who is specialized in children health, said it is good to target babies. She disclosed that she’s working along with the Government of Liberia to make sure all babies born on a daily basis are checked or examined for sickle cell disease.
“Unlike other countries, in Liberia, children die sooner and they don’t reach age 21 when they have sickle cell”, she noted. She said, out of every 15 babies that were born at the JFK, 10 were sickle cell patients, stressing that if testing were done in all the health facilities, sickle cell would be minimized in Liberia.
Dr Tubman disclosed that the rate of sickle cell patients in Liberia is 9 to 6 percent, which is causing a lot of mortality deaths.
By Ethel A. Tweh – Edited by Jonathan Browne
