A PHARMACY Company- General De, has donated to the government different medical equipment worth about 28bn/- for testing Sickle Cell disease.
Apart from testing Sickle Cell, the modern apparatuses can also be used for testing other diseases, including Malaria, HIV/Aids as well as Covid-19. Sickle Cell disease is the name for a group of inherited health conditions that affect the blood cells.
The most serious is called Sickle Cell anemia. Speaking during an event to hand over the vital medical facilities to Prof Abel Makubi, the Permanent Secretary in the ministry of Health, Community Development, Gender, Elderly and Children, the director of General De Pharmacy, Neville Mushi, said the donation was in line with efforts by the government to fight against Sickle Cell disease within the country.
“Last year we took part in the commemoration of the Sickle Cell day held in Mwanza, where we realized there was an acute shortage of medical equipment for testing Sickle Cell, that’s why we have decided to contribute these facilities, ” Mr Mushi said.
The machines, according to Mr Mushi, had high capacity to test Sickle Cell, Malaria, HIV/Aids as well as COVID 19 and give results within just eight minutes.
He added that the modern machines will play a vital role to fast track relevant medical services within the country, observing that the equipment was also used in the USA to test Corona viruses.
Receiving the donated items, Prof Makubi said that Sickle Cell was among killer diseases in the country, contributing to at least 6.7 deaths among children under the age of five. He added that the donation was timely, saying the government was implementing a strategy to upscale service delivery towards Non Communicable Disease (NCDs), including Sickle Cell.
Prof Makubi further noted that statistics depict that between 15 and 20 percent of Tanzanians possess DNAs with Sickle Cell.
“That’s why the sixth phase government through the ministry of health is intensifying efforts to fight against Sickle Cell disease from across the country. We are happy that stakeholders have at least realized our efforts to the tune of starting supporting us,” he added.
He said the government will ensure for sober use of the donated machines in order to help treating Sickle Cell patients, as he urged other companies and individual wellwishers to chip in and donate various support to help mitigate the effects of the disease within local communities.
Prof Makubi said the government was continuing putting up various efforts and measures to improve service delivery towards Sickle Cell patients within the country, among others, including ensuring Sickle Cell services are available at all regional and district referral hospitals.