# Nandurbar screens 5 lakh for sickle cell, decentralises care 2026-08-09T21:44:01+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet Nandurbar district in Maharashtra has screened nearly 5 lakh people for sickle cell disease under the National Sickle Cell Anaemia Elimination Mission, writes district collector in a first-person account. Trait prevalence runs 15-20% against the assumed 10%, and disease prevalence is 1-1.5%. The district uses high performance liquid chromatography and dried blood spot genetic testing developed by the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology to reach remote habitations without cold chain. Hydroxyurea has been decentralised to primary health centres so patients no longer travel 50km for medicine. A helpline calls patients proactively, disability certificates have jumped from about 100 to 1,500 in a year, and monthly sickle cell melas build support groups in Bhili and Pawri languages. The district has started using e-Suchi, its digital health directory, to map patients, but prevention at scale and social security delivery remain unfinished. ## Coverage - timesofindia.indiatimes.com Tags: Hydroxyurea, Nandurbar, public health, screening, Sickle cell disease, tribal health Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/nandurbar-screens-5-lakh-for-sickle-cell-decentralises-care/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/nandurbar-screens-5-lakh-for-sickle-cell-decentralises-care/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes.