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The World Health Organisation (WHO) has introduced clinical guidance and medicine-access measures aimed at reducing preventable deaths and complications among children and adolescents.<\/p>\n
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Sickle cell disease is the world\u2019s most common inherited blood disorder and a major cause of preventable childhood death and disability, particularly in low-income and middle-income countries. \u201cToo many children with sickle cell disease are still dying or suffering devastating complications, even though we have treatments that can help,\u201d WHO Director Dr Pascale Allotey said in a statement on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
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WHO published the first normative guideline covering the diagnosis, prevention and clinical management of sickle cell disease among children and adolescents aged up to 19 on May 7, 2026.<\/p>\n
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The guideline contains 15 recommendations across seven priority areas, including early diagnosis, infection prevention, pain management, stroke prevention and treatment for acute chest syndrome.<\/p>\n
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WHO strongly recommends hydroxyurea for children and adolescents aged nine months to 19 years with sickle cell anaemia, regardless of clinical severity.<\/p>\n
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Hydroxyurea can prevent serious complications and save lives, but existing formulations can make accurate dosing and administration difficult for younger children. \u201cHaving an effective medicine is not enough if children cannot get it, afford it or take it in a form designed for them,\u201d WHO Science for Health Department Director Meg Doherty said.<\/p>\n
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A WHO paediatric drug review identified hydroxyurea as an immediate priority while establishing a watch list of investigational medicines, biologics and gene therapies for future research.<\/p>\n
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WHO also published a product profile on July 6, 2026, outlining preferred standards for child-friendly hydroxyurea. The standards cover dosage, administration, stability, packaging, affordability and flexible weight-based dosing in resource-limited settings.<\/p>\n
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The profile informed WHO\u2019s first invitation for manufacturers to submit sickle cell treatments for prequalification assessment. Eligible products include 500mg hydroxyurea capsules and soluble or dispersible tablets in selected strengths.<\/p>\n
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WHO called for cooperation among African governments, manufacturers, regulators, researchers, funders, procurement agencies, healthcare providers and affected communities.<\/p>\n
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–WHO\/ChannelAfrica–<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":43935,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"news-type":[78,26],"class_list":["post-44321","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-featured","news-type-general_news","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"Sickle cell disease contributed to an estimated 81 100 deaths among children under five in 2021, with sub-Saharan Africa carrying nearly 80% of global cases.","published_date":"","news_description":"Sickle cell disease contributed to an estimated 81 100 deaths among children under five in 2021, with sub-Saharan Africa carrying nearly 80% of global cases.","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/44321","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/44321\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44322,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/44321\/revisions\/44322"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43935"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44321"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=44321"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}