Our goal is to bring this figure down to no more than 10% in no more than five years.

How are we going to achieve this? The same way we have approached every challenge: by adopting what we call “The C.A.R.E. (Charity, Advocacy, Research and Education) Initiative.”

Let’s explain each concept:

CHARITY

This is where you come in. Your contributions to this cause help us secure the resources with the need to accomplish the other tasks in the C.A.R.E. initiative. So, it is the most important aspect and why we continue to engage you, the benefactors, to help make the goal of improving the quality of life of SCD victims a reality.

Project Nigeria: In previous emails, I mentioned the partnership we have gone into with the Embrace Kids and Tackle Sickle Cell Foundations, both of which are sponsoring the provision of supplements for 2000 children for a whole year. Payment has been made to the manufacturers. We are hoping to take delivery in the next few months.

Here’s a link to view the video I did with the McCourty Twins (NFL players with New England and Miami Dolphins) who are quite motivated to support our work, having lost a loved one to the condition.

We hope other individuals, NGOs, private and government institutions will follow our lead, because, as you know, this is just a drop in the bucket (there are over four million people living with SCD in Nigeria alone).

Free Friday Clinics: Of course, our Friday clinics continue to take place, and parents can call us from around the country to have supplements sent to them.

New Clinic Outreach Center: We have added a new center – the Kubwa General Hospital in the outskirts of Abuja, where parents can bring their children every week. See more information here.

ADVOCACY

In the final analysis: real, lasting change can only come when the government is a willing partner. We have been quite fortunate to enjoy a lot of goodwill from the Nigerian government. A lot of this has come because of the results we have been able to consistently demonstrate in the children we support.

Our goal is to have policies written that support the following:

• Doctors and other healthcare professionals everywhere routinely prescribing, at the very least, vitamins C, D3 and zinc (in addition to folic acid and antimalarials).

• Parents of children diagnosed with SCD routinely giving their children the basic supplements: vitamin C, Vitamin D3 and zinc.

• Older SCD patients and individuals with complications being routinely treated with nutraceuticals…in addition to any other medications they may be taking.

Here’s what we have been able to do so far:

• We recently signed a five-year partnership with the Nigerian government to address, manage and research the use of nutritional supplements and nutraceuticals in the treatment of sickle cell disease at all ages.

• Received ethical approval to study the efficacy of vitamin D3 in the management of children with sickle cell disease from the Health Management Board of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja in Nigeria.

• Received approval from the Lagos state government to study nutraceuticals in the management of sickle cell disease.

We are hoping to work with other state governments and indeed, other countries as well, where this condition is a problem.

RESEARCH 

As we’ve already alluded to, it doesn’t matter how pure or lofty or noble our intentions may be, doctors aren’t simply just start adding these nutrients to the standard medications (folic acid and antimalarials) they’ve been prescribing for decades…they must be mandated to do so through regulations or government policy.

Similarly, health policies aren’t just going to change themselves; the ones in charge of making those policies must be given a compelling reason to do so.

Clear, irrefutable, undeniable evidence is the only thing we can think of that will provide that reason.

Hence the need for research

Here’s what we’ve been able to do with your help so far to further research in this field:

• Partnership with National Sickle Cell Foundation: We are two months into our 6-month study on the use of acemannan in children with SCD at the national sickle cell Foundation facility in Lagos. Click here for more information

• Published a paper on the treatment of brain disorders (one in ten children with sickle cell disease suffer strokes) in top journals. It can be found on the National Institute of Health website. See here.

• Another paper on sickle cell disease is awaiting publication at one of the major international journals.

EDUCATION

Reaching the General Public via Television and Social media:

You’ve probably heard that Our weekly TV show, Your Health in Your Hands, recently won an award for the best health show in Africa. We are incredibly honored and grateful to receive it. Hopefully, it will be a platform for us to reach so many more people. Click here for more information

We are seeking to be on more TV stations to educate Nigerians and others about what they can do about this dreaded disease.

We are also quite active on several social media platforms. You can find us on any of the big four: Brain and Body Foundation.

Training the Next Generation of Healthcare Professionals:

Our mandate from the Nigerian government includes the training of medical doctors and other health professionals (especially in our philosophy and approach (called the Building Strength Approach). More on that his will be a wonderful opportunity to make a huge difference and improve clinical outcomes. More to come on that.