Edo: Sickle cell patients seek subsidy on drugs, education

Sickle cell disorder patients in Edo State have tasked government at all levels and non governmental organisations (NGOs), corporate organizations and kind-hearted Nigerians, to initiate a smoothening relief that would assist them acquire university education.Besides, they appealed to the relevant authorities to subsidise the cost of their drugs, a gesture they said would enable them to cope with the buying of drugs and fund some other medical expenses with a view to tackling the ailment.The Secretary General of the Sickle Cell Club, Felix Eguakun, who spoke on behalf of the club in Benin City, the state capital, said the sufferers were still battling to break the yoke of 'social-circle problems' associated with discrimination, especially in areas of employment.According to Eguakun, 'We need subsidized drugs from government for treatment because we are just victims of circumstance'When somebody points to you that this man is a sicklier, nobody wants to identify with you because they believe that this man will die today or tomorrow; even if the person had wanted to employ you, he 'll change his mind.'He said the centre had suffered a provocative heat in area of research and a functional blood bank because there was no laboratory since the centre's establishment in 1993.Similarly, Chairman Sickle Cell Club, Philip Oronsaye and Charles Edigin who eulogized one Dr. Peter Iyawe for his kind support, recalled the renovation of the centre by the state governor, Adams Oshiomhole, but insisted there was no comfort for in-patients with critical conditions who were made to pay N2000 consultancy fee to health officials before the commencement of any treatment.
Click here to read full news..