CONSA Update: “Newborn screening for sickle cell disease in Africa” Article

The Consortium of Newborn Screening in Africa (CONSA), launched in 2016 to address the global burden of SCD, shows the value of newborn screening and how it can be implemented in diverse settings throughout sub-Saharan Africa. This American Society of Hematology (ASH) supported consortium aims to introduce standard-of-care practices for screening and early-intervention therapies at participating institutions, screening 10,000 –16,000 babies per year in Kenya, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, Uganda, Tanzania, and Zambia and providing clinical follow-up for babies who test positive for the disease. This recent Lancet Haematology article entitled, “Newborn screening for sickle cell disease in Africa,” provides further detail on this work and current achievements.