National Sickle Cell Elimination Mission Aims to Screen 7 Crore People Under 40 by 2026

As part of the National Sickle Cell Elimination Mission under the National Health Mission (NHM), the government is planning to screen 7 crore individuals under the age of 40 for sickle cell disease by the year 2025-26. This initiative will span across 17 states, with a primary focus on tribal populations. States included in this screening program are Maharashtra, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, and Rajasthan, among others. The screening aims to facilitate early diagnosis and treatment, including newborn and antenatal screenings.