The Union Health ministry on Tuesday said it has achieved a significant milestone as more than one crore people have been screened for sickle cell disease under the National Sickle Cell Anaemia Elimination Mission.
The National Sickle Cell Anaemia Elimination Mission was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on July 1,2023 at Shahdol in Madhya Pradesh.The program is being carried out in a mission mode for screening, prevention, and management of sickle cell anemia in all tribal and other high prevalent areas States and Union Territories of India, it said.
The ministry said the mission endeavors to screen seven crore people in three years.
The focus is on 278 districts of 17 States with higher prevalence of sickle cell disease viz– Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Bihar and Uttarakhand.