World Sickle Cell Day
Next: June 19, 2027
Bring sickle cell out of the shadows.
The story
Where it comes from
Sickle cell disease is an inherited blood disorder, one of the world's most common genetic diseases. On 22 December 2008 the UN General Assembly adopted by consensus a resolution recognising sickle-cell anaemia as a public health problem (resolution 63/237), co-sponsored by the Republic of the Congo, Senegal, Equatorial Guinea and some 21 other countries. It urged governments and the UN to raise awareness of the disease on 19 June every year, and the first World Sickle Cell Day was held on 19 June 2009.
How it's celebrated
Patient groups, doctors and health ministries use the day to bring the disease 'out of the shadows': to encourage screening and genetic counselling, to share simple ways to manage it, such as drinking plenty of fluids, eating well and taking folic acid, and to challenge the prejudice that people with it often face.
Did you know
- Sickle cell anaemia affects hundreds of thousands of babies born each year, mostly in low- and middle-income countries.
- A child has the disease only when they inherit the sickle cell gene from both parents; people with one copy are usually healthy carriers.
- In 2023 India launched a national mission to end sickle cell disease as a public health problem by 2047, beginning with screening some 70 million people, mostly in tribal communities.
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