Simiyu called on the government to stockpile sickle cell medicine in health facilities to ensure patients have access to the drug.
“Sickle cell is a disease that people live with throughout their lives, so we find that they need medication all the time,” he said.
He said it was very expensive to seek medicine, especially in times of crisis, adding that he spends Sh200 to buy Hydroxurea, Parudrin and Folic Acid every day.
Mediatrix Otisa, a 21-year-old warrior, went into a painful crisis last week, but when she went to a medical facility to seek medical care, she found the door closed. He added that he decided to visit a private facility.
“While in a private facility, I could not receive fasting treatment because it takes time to get my National Health Insurance Fund card approved,” she said.
She called on the government and doctors' unions to agree to and call off the strike.
Otisa said the government should ensure that all medicines for sickle cell warriors are covered as the NHIF transitions to the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF).
“Our medicines are very expensive and some facilities do not accept NHIF cards for payment, so we are trying to accommodate all medicines for sickle cell warriors during the transition from NHIF to SHIF. “It would be wise to do so,” she said.
Jared Owuru, program director for the Noncommunicable Disease Alliance Kenya, said the organization is currently running a three-year program on sickle cell disease and other noncommunicable diseases. He said that people who live in poverty will be trained and given the opportunity to voice their opinions. the challenges they face.
He said the program is also being implemented in 12 other high-burden sickle cell counties.
He said the main objective of starting this project in areas with high sickle cell burden was to find the best way to reduce the burden of non-communicable diseases.
“Currently, almost 50 per cent of all hospital admissions are due to non-communicable diseases,” he says.
Dr Dickens Lubanga, a pediatrician at Bungoma County Referral Hospital, said this would help reduce the number of sickle cells born.
