Sickle Cell Disease: New Opportunities and Challenges in Africa

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is one of the most common genetic causes of illness and death in the world. Tis is a review of SCD in Africa, which bears the highest burden of disease. the first section provides an introduction to the molecular basis of SCD and the pathophysiological mechanism of selected clinical events. The second section discusses the epidemiology of the disease (prevalence, morbidity, and mortality), at global level and within Africa. T e third section discusses the laboratory diagnosis and management of SCD,emphasizingstrategiesthatbeenhaveproventobeeffectiveinareaswithlimitedresources.Troughoutthereview,specifc activities that require evidence to guide healthcare in Arica, as well as strategic areas for further research, will be highlighted