Thirty years after Ghana introduced newborn screening for Sickle Cell Disease (SCD), significant disparities in access to testing continue to leave many children vulnerable to delayed diagnosis and preventable health complications.
Health experts say a child’s place of birth still plays a major role in determining whether they receive early screening, despite the country’s long-standing efforts to tackle one of its most prevalent genetic disorders.
Speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, Ms. Dinah Dwuma-Badu, a Paediatric Haematology Nurse at Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, highlighted the persistent gaps in coverage and called for greater investment to ensure nationwide access to screening services.
Sickle Cell Disease affects an estimated 15,000 to 18,000 newborns in Ghana every year, making it one of the country’s most significant inherited health conditions. Yet many babies born outside major urban centres are still unable to access screening at birth.
Ghana’s newborn screening programme began in 1995 in Kumasi through partnerships involving local and international institutions. Initially, testing was limited to babies delivered at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital and selected health facilities within the Ashanti Region.
Although screening services expanded to Accra in 2017 through the Princess Marie Louise Children’s Hospital, access remains concentrated in a few locations, leaving many communities underserved.
“Most of the screening facilities are in Greater Accra. If a baby is born in parts of northern Ghana, access to diagnosis remains a challenge,” Ms. Dwuma-Badu said.
She described the situation as a critical health equity concern, noting that thousands of children may never receive a diagnosis despite living with the condition.
According to her, many affected children remain undetected because symptoms are often not evident at birth. Without early diagnosis and appropriate medical interventions, some may develop severe complications or die before reaching their fifth birthday.
She explained that timely screening allows healthcare providers to initiate life-saving interventions, including routine monitoring, vaccinations, preventive antibiotic treatment and caregiver education, all of which significantly improve survival rates.
Ms. Dwuma-Badu also emphasized the importance of genetic counselling, noting that newborn screening helps families better understand the hereditary nature of the disease and dispel misconceptions surrounding its causes and management.
Beyond screening challenges, she identified shortages of specialised healthcare personnel, inadequate diagnostic equipment, weak referral systems and limited blood supplies as obstacles affecting comprehensive sickle cell care across the country.
Despite these difficulties, she acknowledged recent gains, including the expansion of screening programmes and the inclusion of hydroxyurea—a medication used to manage sickle cell disease—under the National Health Insurance Scheme.
However, she stressed that more needs to be done to ensure equitable access to services regardless of geographic location.
“We have the evidence. We know that newborn screening saves lives. The next step is ensuring that every child born in Ghana can benefit from it,” she stated.
Health advocates say expanding screening services nationwide could play a crucial role in reducing preventable deaths and improving the quality of life for thousands of children living with sickle cell disease across Ghana.
