Former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Thursday said that girl-child education was not getting the desired attention in Africa.
Obasanjo said this in his keynote address at a seminar in Lagos entitled: “Improving Blood Safety in Developing Nations.”
The seminar was organised by the Olusegun Obasanjo Foundation in commemoration of the World Sickle Cell Day.
Obasanjo spoke on: “Improving Blood Safety in Developing Nations.”
He said: “Girl-child education is not given as much attention as male-child education all over Africa.
“Neglecting girl-child education will affect socio-economic development.”
Obasanjo called for collective efforts in improving girl-child education for empowerment of women to contribute meaningfully to societal development.
He stressed the need for safety of blood, adding that it was as important as having adequate blood supply.
He said: “”Blood transfusion is very important not only for people with pre-existing conditions such as sickle cell anaemia, but also in cases of accidents, pregnancy and child birth.
“HIV/AIDS has been given lots of attention in terms of blood safety.
“It is time we ensure safety of blood in medical conditions such as malaria and sickle cell anaemia.”
Obasanjo called on policy makers, non-governmental organisations and other stakeholders in the health sector to work together to improve safety of blood in Nigeria.
He said: “Having a safe and healthy supply of blood is very important in preserving human lives.
“This problem can be solved when we have all hands on deck and we can drive our healthcare delivery forward.”
The Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, said that Nigeria recorded about 100,000 deaths from sickle cell anaemia annually.
Chukwu, who was represented by Dr. Linus Awuche, the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, said that the ministry was actively involved in circle cell intervention programmes.
He said that the intervention programmes were to reduce the burden of the sickness.
He said: “”The Federal Government has been able to establish sickle cell centres in all the six geopolitical zones.
“We are appealing to the other tiers of government to complement the Federal Government’s effort to improve the management of sickle cell anaemia.”
The Vice Chairman of the foundation, Anne Welsh, said that making blood safe would improve the care for sickle cell patients.
Welsh said: “”Blood transfusion is very important in the management of sickle cell.
“It helps to prevent crisis and manage crisis as well as prevent complications such as stroke in sickle cell.
“Having safe blood will make sure that the management of sickle cell is improved and also improves life expectancy of patients.
“We are pleading with government to make a difference in this condition and promote blood safety.”
Prof. Olu Akinyanju, the Chairman of the Sickle Cell Foundation of Nigeria, said that more than 40 million Nigerians were healthy carriers of the sickle cell trait.
In a paper he presented on: “Sickle Cell in Nigeria,” Akinyanju said: “Nigeria has the highest burden in sickle cell anaemia all over the world.
“However, not much research is done in the country on the condition.
“Most researches are done in the US where the prevalence is not as much as we have in Nigeria.”
Trending
- How FRSC reduced Road Traffic Crashes by 42% – Corps Marshal
- FCCPC uncovers prices in Yen as it grills Chinese supermarket owners + Photos
- Reporters detained for airing music, taking calls from girls
- German police arrest 11 Nigerians laundering money made from dating scam
- Fernandes digs Man U out of hole in win over Sheff United
- Akintoye to Afenifere: Yoruba wants self-determination, not restructuring
- Naira loses 0.64% against dollar at official market
- Re-examining Patriarchy, Faith: Domestic violence, faith integration in Nigeria, by Michael Olatunbosun