MANDATORY SICKLE CELL TESTING FOR BABIES LAUNCHED

URN

The Ministry of Health has launched mandatory testing of newborn babies for sickle cell disease, a move doctors have described as courageous, saying the genetic condition is a major contributor to Uganda’s persistently high child mortality rates.

Speaking to URN on Monday, shortly after the nationwide screening was launched, Child Health Expert Dr. Deo Munube said studies at Mulago National Referral Hospital found that 25 percent of babies presenting with fever and malaria actually had undiagnosed sickle cell disease.

Munube explained that while the government has successfully targeted other major killers of children, such as pneumonia, diarrhea, and malaria, reductions in infant mortality have not been significant because interventions for sickle cell disease were not reaching babies early enough.

With mandatory screening now in place, Munube said health workers will be able to provide early treatments such as penicillin and malaria prophylaxis, alongside other interventions, before children develop serious complications. He emphasized that the system will allow health workers to track positive cases, reduce repeated hospital admissions, and improve survival into adulthood.

According to Dr. Diana Atwine, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health, screening will be conducted using Rapid Diagnostic Tests (RDTs) at all government-run health facilities before mothers are discharged after childbirth. About 20,000 babies are estimated to be born with sickle cell each year, with 80 percent dying before the age of five.

Atwine noted that these figures are based on testing at a limited number of facilities and that the true burden may be higher. She said this is why the Ministry has expanded treatment services to facilities beyond the national and regional referral hospitals.

While screening is currently mandatory only for newborns, Atwine said the surest way to reduce the burden of sickle cell would be pre-marital testing, which many couples in Uganda are not taking seriously. She cited Egypt as an example of a country that successfully reduced sickle cell prevalence through pre-marital testing.

Delegates at the launch proposed an HIV-style arrangement where clergy require couples to know each other’s status before marriage to increase uptake of pre-marital screening. Uganda remains among the top three countries worldwide with the highest sickle cell trait prevalence in its population.