SCFN RECEIVES A BRAND NEW TCD MACHINE FOR ITS STROKE PREVENTION PROGRAMME FOR CHILDREN

The Sickle Cell Foundation Nigeria (SCFN) received a new Transcranial Doppler Scan (TCD)
Machine donated by the CMG Global Foundation. The official handover ceremony took
place on the 22 nd of April, 2024 at the National Sickle Cell Centre, Idi-Araba, Lagos. The event
was attended by the representatives of Covenant Medical Group Global Foundation (CMG),
Dr. Ngozi Okojie, the Rotary Club of Lekki Phase 1 District, Mr. Chinedu Ebo, and the
Association of Nigerian Physicians in the Americas (ANPA), Mrs. Borowa Azabi. Members
of the press were also present to witness the occasion.

The Covenant Medical Group Global Foundation is a non-governmental organization based
in the United States of America that helps to “provide accessible, critical healthcare, build
infrastructure, and develop human resource capacity for vulnerable communities in a
global context”.
The ceremony kicked off with the National Director/CEO of SCFN, Dr. Annette Akinsete,
taking the representatives on a facility tour to explain the work being done at the Foundation.
The CMG representative and Founder, Dr. Ngozi Okojie, acknowledged the magnitude of
work being done at the National Sickle Cell Center and committed strongly to prospective
collaboration opportunities with the SCFN adding that, “the donation no doubt was the
beginning of greater things to come”. She further acknowledged that there is still a lot of
work to be done and therefore committed to bringing in her expertise and support at any
level necessary to push further the efforts of the SCFN in providing quality care, intervention
and cure to persons living with the sickle cell disorder. While speaking to the press, Dr. Ngozi
expressed her displeasure at the poor rate of government involvement and interventions in the
sickle cell health value chain and called on the Government to give more backing to competent
institutions like SCFN that can share experiences and solutions across the nation if given the
adequate funding and policy backing.
The TCD machine was received on behalf of the Foundation by its Founder Professor Olu
Akinyaju alongside the National Director Dr. Akinsete. In his remarks, an elated Professor

Akinyanju said that “this gesture by the CMG group facilitated by ANPA and the Rotary
Club of Lekki Phase 1 was a step in the right direction.” He called the donation “a timely
donation that will serve as a major intervention technology in the Foundation’s stroke
prevention programme”.
While handing out plaques, in recognition of the contributions of CMG, ANPA and the
Rotary Club of Lekki Phase 1, the National Director, Dr. Akinsete, thanked the organizations
for the donation of the Transcranial Doppler Scan machine which she said would enable more
children living with the Sickle Cell Disorder in Nigeria to benefit from SCFN’s stroke
management programme. She added that since 2011, the Foundation had provided over
29,000 transcranial doppler scans for children living with the Sickle Cell Disorder. She went
on to appeal to parents and guardians of children aged 2-16 years to bring them to the
Foundation for a TCD scan once a year.
During the closing remarks, the representative of Rotary Club of Lekki Phase 1, Mr. Chinedu
Ebo, donated a sum of N500,000 to the Foundation. In his speech, he said “the Rotary Club
was privileged to play a facilitation role in securing the donation of the machine to the
Foundation”. He further noted that “the Rotary Club in her endeavours, have brought
succour to many parts of the country and, moving forward through the Foundation, they will
be able to touch the lives of more persons living with SCD through its health, education and
charity programme”. He hailed the Sickle Cell Foundation Nigeria as a first-class health facility
specifically resourced with the right personnel and infrastructure to bring sustainable solutions
to SCD in Nigeria. The representative of the Association of Nigerian Physicians in the
Americas, Mrs. Borowa Azabi, in her closing remarks also acknowledged the work that the
Sickle Cell Foundation Nigeria is doing and thanked the CMG group for delivering on their
promise to the SCFN. She ended assuring SCFN of greater collaboration and support from
ANPA.