Mrs Asma’u Rufa’i, the President of the association, made the call on Sunday in Kano at a sensitisation lecture‎ to commemorate the World Sickle Cell Day.

She also called on philanthropists to assist their members to enable them access medication easily.

``The disease requires routine medication and follow-up which consumes a lot of money.

``With the current economic crunch in the country, many parents cannot afford the frequent treatment,’’ she said.

Rufa'I, said that the lecture was organised to create awareness among the patients on how to live a healthy lifestyle.

In a lecture, Dr Aminu Yusuf, a haematology at the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH) Kano, ‎advised couples to ensure they conducted genotype test before getting married to check the prevalence of the disease.

He said that the possible signs of the disease include body pain and yellow eyes‎, and urged parents to rush their children to hospital as soon as the symptoms manifested.

Yusuf advised parents to frequently feed their children suffering from the disease with high energy food such as vegetables, in addition to giving patients enough water to keep their body strong.