The Ministry of Health has launched a new campaign to expand sickle cell screening to universities and health training institutions across the country, building on its recently mandated newborn screening program.
Dr. Miriam Ajambo, the ministry’s national sickle cell coordinator, said the initiative targets first-year students during orientation, with health ministers at both public and private institutions leading awareness campaigns and coordinating screening activities.
Ministry statistics show that about 6 million Ugandans carry the sickle cell trait, and more than 20,000 children are born with the inherited blood disorder annually. The figures rank Uganda among the 10 African nations with the highest burden of sickle cell disease.
Ajambo said the ministry has adopted multiple strategies to reduce the prevalence of the disease, with universities identified as a key entry point for prevention. She noted that reaching young adults before they enter long-term relationships and marriage will enable them to make informed reproductive choices.
Speaking at a meeting of representatives from higher institutions of learning under the Inter-University Health Ministers Consortium, the Minister of State for Primary Health Care, Dr Charles Ayume, announced that the government is supplying locally manufactured Rapid Diagnostic Test (RDT) kits to sustain free sickle cell screening at Makerere University beyond the launch of the campaign.
Ayume said the government will continue supplying the test kits to universities, provided the institutions maintain proper accountability. He added that the programme will remain in place until children currently being screened under the national newborn screening programme reach university age.
He emphasized that the ministry’s ultimate goal is to ensure that couples know their sickle cell status before having children, particularly where both partners carry the sickle cell trait.
Ebenezer Wamezaya, the Health Minister at Makerere University, told URN that the institution is launching the campaign with a medical camp targeting 10,000 students for sickle cell screening.
The Ministry of Health plans to roll out the campaign in 80 universities and other institutions of higher learning across the country.
