Health Minister Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng Ocero has launched a national program to scale up the prevention, testing, and management of sickle cell disease in the Lango sub-region, as part of government efforts to reduce the country’s high burden of the disease through early diagnosis, awareness, and improved treatment.
Speaking during the launch at Lira Mayor’s Garden, Dr. Aceng said Uganda is among the five countries in the world most affected by sickle cell disease, with an estimated 20,000 children born each year with the condition. Without early diagnosis and care, she said, up to 80 percent die before the age of five.
“This is not just a health statistic; it is a matter of justice and human dignity that calls for urgent attention. The real question is whether we as leaders will choose to act with urgency and scale,” Dr. Aceng said.
The new initiative will strengthen screening services at lower-level health facilities, expand sickle cell clinics across the country, and promote the use of hydroxyurea, the approved drug for managing the disease.
The program also targets reducing sickle cell prevalence among newborns in Uganda to below two percent by 2030.
Dr. Aceng said the Ministry of Health chose Lira City to launch the national scale-up because the Lango sub-region has the highest recorded sickle cell burden in Uganda.
“We are deliberately starting in Lango because this region carries the greatest weight of the disease. This launch marks our commitment to expand care and prevention where it is most needed,” she said.
The Health Minister also directed the Director-General of Health Services, Dr. Charles Olaro, to establish a national task force to draft a policy framework for the prevention and treatment of sickle cell disease.
Dr. Olaro said the Ministry is integrating sickle cell care into routine health services under the department of non-communicable diseases to ensure long-term sustainability.
The program includes citizen-led task forces and partnerships with cultural, religious, and political leaders to promote pre-marital testing, awareness, and behavioral change.
According to Dr. Andrew Odur, the Acting Director of Lira Regional Referral Hospital, the facility currently manages over 1,500 sickle cell patients.
Dr Odur said the new national program and the establishment of a Wellness Clinic and Laboratory at the hospital will enhance early screening and improve care for patients.
“The wellness clinic will support early diagnosis and prevention of both sickle cell and other non-communicable diseases,” Dr. Odur said.
Dr. Aceng commended partners, including Bristol Myers Squibb and Texas Children’s Hospital through Baylor-Uganda, for donating hydroxyurea drugs and test kits to support the national rollout.
She urged communities to take advantage of the new services, emphasising the importance of early testing and community mobilisation.
“This program is not only about treatment but also about prevention. It calls for compassion, leadership, and collective action,” she said.
The launch event also marked Uganda’s commitment to combat sepsis and other non-communicable diseases as part of the broader wellness campaign for the Lango sub-region.