- 450,000 Nigerian babies at risk
- Stakeholders recommend blood screening
Nigeria has high rate of infant deaths, which has remained a major source of concern to stakeholders in the health sector, including the government, over the years. Statistics from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) show that 10 per cent of new-born deaths in the world occur in Nigeria annually.
As part of efforts to reduce these worrisome issues, particularly those arising from Rhesus disease, occasioned by the ailment’s incompatibility, healthcare professionals have called for the introduction of free genotype/blood group screening in all hospitals in Nigeria to enable pregnant women attending ante-natal care know their Rhesus status.
According to them, about 450,000 Nigerian babies are at risk of the disease.
The stakeholders stated that introducing a free health screening, to be known as ‘Operation Know Your Genotype and Blood Group’ by government in all health facilities in the country was critical in eliminating the scourge.
Stressing that in Nigeria, today, the lack of screening of pregnant women during ante-natal care had led to high infant mortality, and remained a huge challenge.
For the health experts, it was high time policy makers and healthcare professionals took a proactive step and adopt a holistic approach that could eliminate the disease and also put an end to the needless loss of lives of newborn to the vaccine preventable disease.
They noted that Rhesus disease had been erased in high-income countries but had, however, remained a scourge in low and middle-income countries like Nigeria.
According to them, Rhesus disease, also known as haemolytic disease of the foetus and newborn (HDFN) is a condition where antibodies in a pregnant woman’s blood destroy her baby’s blood cells. The disease does not harm the mother, but it can cause the baby to become anaemic and develop jaundice. Rhesus disease, which can be prevented using injections of a medication called Anti-D immunoglobulin or Rhogam, is said to occur only when the mother has Rhesus negative blood (RhD negative) and the baby in her womb has Rhesus positive blood (RhD positive).
Speaking at a one-day symposium on ‘50 Years Celebration of Rhesus Prevention’, which focused on the need for Nigeria to align with global efforts in the elimination of the disease, the stakeholders affirmed that if Nigeria aligned with global best practices through increased awareness creation and by making Anti-D Immunoglobulin affordable and accessible to women that needed it, the country could gradually eliminate the disease.
The symposium organised by Rhesus Solution Initiative (RSI) in Lagos, recently, attracted over 200 participants representing stakeholders in the health sector, international organizations, NGOs, local and foreign medical experts in hematology, pediatric, commissioners of health, the Nigerian Medical Association, pharmaceutical manufacturers, researchers, representatives of the Federal and state governments, among
others.
At the occasion, the Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, in his keynote address, said for the country to eliminate Rhesus disease, all stakeholders must come together and play their role effectively and ensure that the high infant mortality rate associated with the disease was reduced to the barest minimum through regular sensitisation of pregnant women, as a lot of them were still ignorant of the disease.
Adewole, who was represented by the Chief Medical Director of the University of Lagos Teaching Hospital (LUTH) , Idi-Araba, Prof. Chris Bode, said, “Without awareness and vaccination, the number of deaths will remain high. It is regrettable that in spite of our oil boom, our babies still die from preventable pre-natal causes. We must map out strategies to eliminate the disease by addressing the issue of accessibility and affordability of the treatment, because it is crucial for Nigeria to achieve its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).”
In her presentation, a Consultant Paediatrician, Prof. Angela Okolo, whose lecture centred on the nature of Rhesus disease, treatment and prevention, said, “Nigeria must be committed to reducing neo-natal deaths associated with Rhesus disease, because it is highly preventable and the vaccine injection is also available.
“This can be done if governments provide free Rhogam at all primary healthcare centres in the country, apart from providing free genotype/ blood group screening for all pregnant women attending ante-natal care,” she
advised.
President and Initiator of Rhesus Solution Initiative, Mrs. Olufunmilayo Banire, in her remarks identified ignorance owing to lack of awareness as well as lack of accessibility and affordability of the vaccine, which costs N35, 000 per injection, as major problems hindering the elimination of the disease in Nigeria.
Banire revealed that approximately 450,000 out over seven million babies delivered in Nigeria every year were affected by Rhesus disease, stressing that urgent action be taken to reverse the ugly
trend.
“The issue of lack of awareness remains a major problem but it can be addressed through community participation, involvement of religious leaders, women associations/groups and NGOs. Also, healthcare providers themselves must ensure that pregnant women attending ante-natal care are duly sensitized on Rhesus incompatibility and its implications to their unborn
babies.
“After proper screening of pregnant women during ante-natal care, delivery should also be monitored by skilled birth attendants. Again, there is also need for testing of babies born to Rhesus negative women at birth to determine their Rhesus status and to ascertain the need for Rhogam injection or otherwise,” she added.
Calling on stakeholders to promote health education and address the issue of poor health seeking behaviour among Nigerians, Banire harped on the need for capacity building for health
workers.