Caleb is only 11 years old, but his life has already been irrevocably and tragically shaped by a genetic blood disorder. The young boy from Ghana has had a series of strokes caused by sickle cell disease. They left him unable to walk or feed himself.
But now there is hope that future generations of children with sickle cell disease in Ghana might have a better chance of leading relatively normal lives. Through the combined efforts of a dedicated Yale-educated doctor, the government of Ghana and Novartis, efforts are underway to screen more newborn babies for the disease, and expand the availability of care and medicine for those who inherit the disorder.
Watch the video to see how the partners in this innovative collaboration – often motivated by personal experiences with sickle cell disease – are striving to make Ghana a role model for tackling the illness in lower-income countries.
