NAIROBI, Kenya, July 24 – Danish pharmaceutical firm Novo Nordisk has teamed up with the American Society of Hematology (ASH) to enhance sickle cell disease (SCD) care in sub-Saharan Africa through a new initiative aimed at boosting post-diagnosis follow-up.
Dubbed the Community Health Worker (CHW) Initiative, the programme falls under the Consortium on Newborn Screening in Africa (CONSA) and will run in Kenya, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia.
The goal is to strengthen retention to care for children diagnosed with SCD — a persistent challenge due to stigma, distance to health facilities, and limited awareness.
Novo Nordisk will also partner with digital health platform reach52 to roll out health education campaigns in Kenya’s Siaya, Homa Bay, and Kisumu counties. The campaigns aim to encourage early screening and reduce stigma around the condition.
Each of the 11 participating clinical catchment areas will be assigned five community health workers and receive annual grants to support their operations.
The partnership is part of Novo Nordisk’s iCARE strategy to improve SCD care in underserved regions, while ASH hopes the effort will strengthen consistent access to care and education for affected families.
