People of AMPATH: Dr. Festus Njuguna, AMPATH Sickle Cell Program
In recognition of Sickle Cell Awareness Month in September, Dr. Festus Njuguna talks about his career and the AMPATH Sickle Cell program. Dr. Njuguna received his undergraduate training and completed and Master of Medicine in Paediatrics at Moi University. He is now a lecturer in the Department of Child Health and Paediatrics and head of the Paediatric Haemato-oncology Unit at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital where he is involved in the clinical care and research in the sickle cell disease program at MTRH/AMPATH.
Dr. Festus Njuguna
How did you get interested in this specific area of care?
Paediatric haemato-oncology has always been an area of interest since I did my internship after my undergraduate training. Sickle cell disease encompasses a huge proportion of children with benign haematology conditions in Kenya. I witnessed the difficulties children with sickle cell disease were having as well as their families. I was also aware of the strides that have been made in other parts of the world as far as the disease is concerned. I had the motivation to try and make a difference in the lives of the children and their families given that some of the interventions are quite cheap and life changing.
What are some of the key elements of the AMPATH sickle cell program?
The program incorporates care, research, training and advocacy as well.
We have a sickle cell clinic at MTRH that provides comprehensive services to our patients. We also helped establish and support several county hospitals in the provision of sickle cell disease care. The partner hospitals include Homa Bay, Busia and Bungoma County Hospitals. We have been involved on training healthcare workers in several facilities in the country including: MTRH, Bungoma, Homa Bay, Busia, Kisumu, Nakuru, Mombasa, etc.
In terms of research, we just concluded data collection on a clinical trial that was comparing three malaria prophylaxis regimens in children with sickle cell. We have also done research on effectives of point-of-care screening tools for sickle cell as well.
Our program has played a major role in helping patients and families create support networks. These provide a platform for them to share their challenges and learn from one another. They also have enabled the patients/families to have a voice through which they can lobby government to support sickle cell disease management in the country.
Teamwork and collaboration, sustainability and innovation have been very key elements as we implemented the various activities in our program.
All of this has been achieved in partnership with the Indiana Hemophilia and Thrombosis Center (IHTC). They have walked this whole journey with us. They have supported exchange programs for staff which have enhanced their knowledge and skills; medication; laboratory diagnosis including staff, equipment and reagents; and helped with expanding care to the satellite centers we are working with.
How is your work and this program important to patients?
Sickle cell disease care has not been given the attention it deserves previously. The patients were undergoing a lot of suffering and it was important that for health care providers get engaged to alleviate their suffering. We stepped in to bridge this gap.
What makes the AMPATH partnership special?
I have worked in MTRH /MU since I graduated from medical school. I have seen AMPATH grow from its inception.
AMPATH has always endeavored to reach the underserved populations in the country and provide evidence-based health care. It builds on the strengths of each of the partners in order to achieve the highest standards of care.
What are your future goals for the sickle cell program?
We would like to have the central and county governments get more involved in sickle cell disease care in the country. We hope we can be a source of data to show the burden of the disease and how it impacts on the socio-economic development in the regions where it is prevalent.
Increased knowledge among the health care workers will be important in advancing the care of those living with sickle cell disease. We aim to train more health care workers on how best to offer this care.
We also hope that we can introduce some of the new technologies in sickle cell disease especially in diagnosis where there are several types of point-of-care testing that have been developed. This will enable easy and cheap ways of confirming the diagnosis.
Newborn/early infant diagnosis has been a key pillar in the gains against sickle cell disease mortality that have been seen in other parts of the world. We hope to be at the forefront in the advocacy and implementation of a newborn screening program in the country.
