The Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) on Thursday donated relief materials to the Sickle Cell Orphanage and Underprivileged Home in Agulu, Anaocha Local Government Area, Anambra State.
The Chairman of the association, Dr. Princeston Okam, said the gesture was part of the NMA’s corporate social responsibility and one of the activities lined up for its 2025 Anambra Physicians’ Week celebration.
Items donated included bags of rice, cartons of noodles, tubers of yam, and toilet tissues. The association also announced scholarship opportunities for the orphanage inmates.
Okam, who led other members on the visit, highlighted that sickle cell disease, which continues to affect many Nigerians, is preventable. He explained that the condition arises when individuals carrying sickle cell genes in their genotype have children together.
He warned that such unions could produce children with the disease, which currently has no cure. Okam also raised concern over the increasing prevalence of the disease and the challenges faced by patients, calling for greater government attention and funding.
“It comes with perpetual health challenges and burdens both to the individual, parents, and society at large,” he said. He called for increased public awareness, mandatory premarital screening, and full implementation of the Anambra Sickle Cell Disease Control and Eradication Law, 2019.
Okam further urged that patients have access to free healthcare, education, and rehabilitation services for those struggling with opioid addiction. He praised the orphanage for its care of the 28 children living with the disease and promised continued support and collaboration.
The NMA team was received by the Director of the orphanage, Aisha Maduagwu, and other staff members. In her remarks, Maduagwu expressed gratitude to the association and its leadership for their generosity and care for the children.
