In the Union Budget 2023, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced today a mission to eliminate sickle cell anaemia by 2047.
Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a genetic blood disorder where red blood cells contort into a sickle shape. In this case, the human body faces trouble in making enough healthy red blood cells and undergoes several blood transfusions, increasing the chances of chronic infections.
“The mission will entail awareness creation, universal screening of 7 crore people in the age group 0 to 40 years in affected tribal areas and counselling through collaborative efforts,” Sitharaman said while delivering her speech.
News18 had in November reported that the Centre is planning to launch a programme to eliminate sickle cell anaemia in a mission mode over the next three and a half years.
The mission will focus on 17 selected states where the government has decided to adopt a multifaceted approach to tackle the prevalence of the disease and cover the population from 0 to 40 years under the National Health Mission (NHM).
The disease affects the entire life of the patient and the issue has been taken up by the ministry of health and family welfare as well as the ministry of tribal affairs as a “critical issue requiring immediate focus”.
The health ministry has also developed a sickle cell app and portal for real-time data entry provision, which will be shared with the states and Union Territories for tracking the existence and diagnosis of the disease.
The NHM aims to cover 7 crore people for screening – to identify people with sickle cell disease – in the next three and a half years up to the financial year 2025-26.
Its target is to screen one crore people in the current financial year and two crore each in the following years.
The mission’s focuses on 17 states with higher prevalence of the disease: Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Bihar, and Uttarakhand.
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