Dame Edith Okowa Donates Sickle Cell Screening Equipment for Newborn
Delta becomes first state in Nigeria to have a “newborn and adult screening machine’
Delta State Governor, Sen. Ifeanyi Okowa, on Wednesday commissioned a newborn screening equipment for the treatment of sickle cell in the state.
PAY ATTENTION TO : Gov Okowa and the Government of Wasteful Spending
The equipment was donated to the Sickle Cell Referral Centre, Asaba Specialist Hospital by 05 Initiative of the wife of the governor, Dame Edith Okowa.
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While commissioning the equipment, the Governor said that with the inauguration of the equipment, Delta had become the first state in Nigeria to have a “newborn and adult screening machine’’ in one system under High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC).
He thanked his wife for the vision to assist people with sickle cell disorder, thus assisting the hopeless in the society, and commended the 05 Initiative, which he said had had its drive sustained by donations from individuals and agencies.
Okowa called for appropriate legislation for compulsory test for every newborn child across the country, adding that the government would do everything to support the screening of children across the state.
In his words; “Let me congratulate the 05 Initiative for truly impacting on the lives of our people in several ways. I have witnessed them do a whole lot of things for children, women, and the less privileged.
“They have gone further to reach out to our brothers and sisters in the prisons and I believe that beyond what they give, the fact that they carry out evangelism to the prisons will help make those people better citizens when they come out.
