By Vivian Ihechu/NAN —
Mr Ayoola Olajide has lived most of his life in the shadow of a diagnosis that arrived before he could understand its meaning.
Born into a large polygamous family in Lagos, he was told the word “sickle cell” for the first time only after fainting at the finish line of a school race and waking up on a hospital bed in 1966.
That moment began a lifetime of pain, prejudice and persistence.
According to the World Health Organisation, sickle-cell disorder (SCD) is a serious inherited blood disorder caused by a mutation in the HBB gene, leading to abnormal, sickle-shaped red blood cells that block blood flow and cause severe health complications.
In 2021, an estimated 7.74 million people lived with SCD globally, with 515,000 new births — primarily in sub-Saharan Africa, which accounts for nearly 80 per cent of global cases.
According to the Sickle Cell Foundation of Nigeria (SCFN) and Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Nigeria bears the highest global burden of Sickle Cell Disease (SCD), with over 40 million carriers and roughly 150,000 babies born with the condition annually.
The ministry noted that no fewer than 100,000 of these infants died before their fifth birthday, representing eight per cent of the nation’s total infant mortality
SCD causes acute pain crises, anaemia, stroke, infections, kidney failure, and pregnancy-related risks.
It is classified as a top non-communicable disease (NCD) and a critical public health emergency.
Frequent pain crises, jaundice, malaria and repeated hospital stays made Olajide’s childhood different from his siblings.
“My father had 31 children; I was the only one with sickle cell anaemia,” Olajide remembered.
He narrated that he was often left behind when the boys went to the farm and, because of misconceptions, family and community sometimes attributed his illness to witchcraft or the “evil eye.”
Even simple cruelty followed: classmates and neighbours accused him of malingering and laughed at his slow physical growth.
The heaviest burden fell on his mother, who spent sleepless nights tending to him during crises.
Yet school, examinations and repeated hospital admissions did not stop Olajide.
He completed his education, became a journalist and in 2008 founded African Sickle Cell News & World Report and the Sickle Cell Education Centre — platforms that make information and free copies of the magazine available to anyone with internet access.
“I once ended a serious relationship because of genotype incompatibility,” he told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), illustrating personal sacrifices many living with sickle cell faced when choosing partners, raising children and planning families.
In spite of challenges, Olajide is married with children.
However, he noted that he once ended a serious relationship due to genotype incompatibility, illustrating how reproductive decisions affected warriors
