Nairobi, Jan. 21 -- The Ministry of Health is set to fully integrate Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) into the Social Health Authority's (SHA) benefits package, a move that will reshape how care for patients with the condition is financed and ease the financial pain on the affected.

This policy change marks a significant step forward in addressing a disease that affects around 14,000 newborns in Kenya every year and has long been neglected in national health planning.

Despite being one of the most common inherited blood disorders in the country, SCD care has largely depended on out-of-pocket spending, donor support or fragmented pilot programmes.

The Ministry of Health says the goal is to transition SCD care from emergency response to consist...