From left: Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, Director General of GHS, Dr. Anthony Nsiah Asare and Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia with officials of Novartis
Ministry of Health (MoH), Ghana Health Service (GHS), Sickle Cell Foundation of Ghana and global medicines company, Novartis, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to improve sickle cell care in Ghana.
The agreement, which was signed on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum held in Davos, Switzerland, would create a holistic approach to help tackle sickle cell disease in the country.
It entails the establishment of treatment guidelines, new-born screening centres of excellence and the availability of accessible treatment options in line with the global standards of care.
This new public-private partnership (PPP) to improve the diagnosis and accelerate treatment for people with sickle cell disease (SCD) makes Ghana the first African country to be committed to offering the global standard of care for their people with SCD.
“The partnership in the long term aims to improve and extend the lives of people with SCD through a comprehensive approach to screening and diagnosis; treatment and disease management; training and education; and elevating basic and clinical research and capabilities,” a statement from the sector ministry indicated.
The partners also plan to collaborate to improve access to high quality treatment for patients in Ghana.
The Minister for Health, Kwaku Agreman-Manu, who signed on behalf of the government of Ghana, expressed his delight about the partnership with the Sickle Cell Foundation and Novartis.
He expressed the nation’s commitment to putting SCD among the priorities on the national health agenda and to put the required resources behind it.
“We invite like-minded partners from the public and private sectors to join us in this effort. Together, we can actively contribute to ending preventable deaths of newborns and children under five years of age, as set out in the UN Sustainable Development Goals,” he added.
Sickle cell disease is a hereditary and life-threatening condition that causes ongoing damage to red blood cells, blood vessels and organs.
It is a lifelong illness that can put an emotional, physical, and financial burden on patients and their families.
Although recognised by the World Health Organisation as a public health priority, it is a neglected health problem in sub-Saharan Africa.
Approximately 80 per cent of individuals with SCD globa11y are born in sub-Saharan Africa, and there is evidence to suggest that more than half of affected individuals may die before the age of five due to preventable complications.
Fifteen thousand babies are born with sickle cell disease every year in Ghana.
In 2018, Novartis submitted hydroxyurea, the current general standard of care for severe SCD, for registration for the specific indication of SCD in Ghana.
The Ghana Food & Drugs Authority (GFDA) granted marketing authorisation three months ahead of schedule (25 October 2018), making it the first time that hydroxyrrrea will be available to patients for this indication in Ghana.
By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri