Gombe State Emir Imposes One Crucial Screening Test Before Marriage.
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A Gombe State Emir of Akko, Emir Umar Atiku has stated one compulsory screening test before marriage.
Emir Atiku said he has enforced this exercise to reduce sickle cell disease.
He said that within his jurisdiction, he has imposed blood screening before marriage. The Emir explained that these tests would also reduce the spread of HIV positive cases in the state.
According to multiple sources, 5000 new sickle cell cases were registered just recently. This, therefore, requires the urgent need to control the procreation of the weak genotype.
Speaking with newsmen, the emir revealed that the palace no longer conducted marriages without passing these tests. He, however, added that some individuals boycott the palace and get married elsewhere.
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Emir Atiku called on the government to support this initiative and back this blood screening with the law.
He said:
“I think the government and other stakeholders should look into this issue and work on enforcing this type of screening before marriage. Because, even as we are enforcing here in the palace, some intending couples do boycott the palace and get wedded elsewhere.”
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Meanwhile, the House of Assembly had weighed in on the surge of sickle cell cases in the State. They called on parents to oversee the compatibility of their children.
The Operations Manager of the Gombe State Healthcare Agency, Dr Maspara Gideon, briefed stakeholders on the sensitization.
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He said the goal of the organisation is to break its previous record of enrolling 25,565 poor and vulnerable persons into the scheme.
Gideon said:
“We have come here to sensitise the community; we have put together community representatives, all community, religious leaders, groups, and organisation of the poor and vulnerable, the aim is to ensure that they understand the categories of people that will benefit from this programme which include children under five, the aged, widows, Internally Displaced Persons and the physically challenged persons in the community.
“We sensitised them to be on the lookout and mobilise such categories of people so that they can get their National Identity Number, ready for when we start the enrolment which is coming up very soon in May.”
The chairman of Saif Advocacy Foundation, Al-Hassan Yahaya, spoke about the Basic Healthcare Provision.
Yahaya said the goal was to enable both the rich and poor accessed basic medical care.
His words: “This is an opportunity to reduce out-of-pocket expenses for the masses, it is free of charge. This category is for the vulnerable, it includes widows and people living with disabilities.
“It is something worthy of commendation as it closes the gap between the poor and vulnerable.
“Kudos to Go health, Gombe State Government and the Federal Government as this would promote better health indices in the state.”
Source: PUNCH Health Wise