India's National Sickle Cell Anemia Elimination Mission: A Comprehensive Overview

The National Sickle Cell Anemia Elimination Mission (NSCAEM) aims to screen 7 crore people in tribal areas by 2025-26. Launched by Prime Minister Modi, the mission offers comprehensive care, counselling, and financial support for sickle cell disease patients. Hydroxyurea has been included in the National Health Mission Essential Drugs List to enhance access to essential medications.

A total of 3.85 crore people in 17 identified states have been screened for sickle cell anaemia as of July 31, Union Health Minister J P Nadda informed the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the National Sickle Cell Anaemia Elimination Mission (NSCAEM) from Madhya Pradesh on July 1, 2023. The mission aims to provide affordable, accessible, and quality care to all sickle cell disease (SCD) patients. Its objectives include reducing the prevalence of the disease through awareness campaigns and screening 7 crore people aged 0-40 years in affected tribal districts by 2025-26.

The mission also focuses on offering counselling through collaborative efforts of central ministries and state governments. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has established a National Sickle Cell portal for screening details. Services under NSCAEM include regular follow-ups, lifestyle management counselling, pre-marriage and pre-natal advice, nutritional support, crisis symptom management, and referrals to higher facilities. State governments are key to mission implementation.

Hydroxyurea has been added to the National Health Mission's Essential Drugs List at various health facilities to improve medication access. Financial support is also provided for hydroxyurea procurement to reduce out-of-pocket expenses for SCD patients.

The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) promotes advanced SCD treatments through its gene editing therapies program. The National Health Mission supports the establishment of Integrated Centers for Hemoglobinopathies and Hemophilia (ICHH) in district hospitals, coordinating with state Health Departments. Additionally, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare funds Centres of Excellence on SCD, with the ICMR-National Institute of Research In Tribal Health training master trainers on SCD diagnosis.