As Nigeria continues to bear the world’s highest burden of sickle-cell disease (SCD), the Oyo State Government and Seyifara Foundation have called for compulsory genotype awareness, premarital counselling, and early education starting in secondary school, urging the National Assembly to legislate for collaboration between government and religious bodies to promote stricter screening, during an awareness programme themed “Know your genotype, know your power” held in Ibadan over the weekend, where officials noted that Nigeria’s estimated 150,000 SCD births annually reflect weak prevention and limited public understanding, with Permanent Secretary of Health, Dr. Akintunde Ayeni, stating, “Sickle-cell starts at conception. It is not contagious; it is inherited, and it can be prevented. When people know their genotype early—before marriage—they are able to plan their lives. Many of the pains, illnesses and deaths we see today are avoidable,” while Seyifara Foundation founder Oluwaseyi Adediran said, “Starting from secondary school, we want young people to understand their genotype early. This is how we reduce deaths and the long-term burden of illness,” as the foundation, in partnership with the Oyo State Government, will run a six-month campaign from January to June 2026 in six secondary schools, training students as Sickle-Cell Awareness Advocates, establishing “Genotype and Friendship Clubs,” and distributing educational materials, with Ayeni adding, “The power to reduce sickle-cell disease lies first in knowledge,” amid data showing about 25 per cent of Nigerians carry the sickle-cell trait and 2–3 per cent live with SCD.
