Africa: Breakthrough Sickle Cell Gene Therapy a Distant Hope in Africa

AllAfrica

by info@scidev.net (SciDev.Net)

February 25, 2026

AI-Generated Deep Dive Summary

Uganda has introduced mandatory newborn screening for sickle cell disease, a move aimed at reducing preventable deaths. However, while gene therapy offers hope in the U.S. and Europe, its high cost—around $2.2 million per treatment—makes it inaccessible to most Africans. Nigeria, which bears the world's largest burden of the disease, with 150,000 newborns affected annually, sees such treatments as largely symbolic due to financial constraints. The World Health Organization reports that Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for 80% of global sickle cell cases, making it a leading cause of death among young children. In Uganda alone, an estimated 20,000 children are born with the condition each year, with up to 80% dying before age five due to delayed diagnosis and preventable complications. Early detection through newborn screening is seen as a critical step in improving outcomes. Traditional treatments in Africa have focused on symptom management, including pain relief, infection prevention, blood transfusions, and, in limited cases, bone marrow transplants. While these methods are available in some countries like Nigeria, which has three transplant centers, the costs remain prohibitive for most families. Advanced therapies, such as gene-editing treatments like Casgevy, approved in the U.S. and U.K., offer a potential cure but are financially out of reach for low- and middle-income countries. The disparity between high-income nations and African countries highlights the global divide in access to cutting-edge medical technologies. For many Africans, the focus remains on affordable solutions and improving basic healthcare infrastructure to address the disease's devastating impact. The lack of widespread access to advanced therapies underscores the need for international collaboration to bridge this gap and ensure equitable treatment options for all affected individuals.

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Originally published on AllAfrica on 2/25/2026