The Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) is an inherited form of anemia (low blood levels in the body), that results from both parents having the Sickle Cell gene and passing it on to their unborn child.
In Africa, sickle cell disease (SCD) is a major public health problem with over 200,000 babies born per year with the disease. In Ghana, approximately 15,000 (2%) of Ghanaian newborns are diagnosed with SCD annually.
The disease is more common in certain ethnic groups, including: People of African descent, including African-Americans (among whom 1 in 12 carries a sickle cell gene) Hispanic-Americans from Central and South America and people of Middle Eastern, Asian, Indian, and Mediterranean descent.