The Deputy Minister of Health, Mr Rojo Mettle-Nunoo, has stressed the need for Ghanaians to know the sickle cell status of their prospective marriage partners to reduce its incidence in the country. He said in view of the prevalence rate, the pain, anguish and cost of medications that patients had to bear, it was important to exercise restraint in expressing love to a member of the opposite sex before marriage. Mr Mettle-Nunoo made the call when inaugurating a 17-member Local Organizing Committee (LOC) for the upcoming First Global Congress on Sickle Cell Disease, in Accra on Tuesday. Ghana is expected to host the congress in July. It would be co-organized by the Sickle Cell Foundation of Ghana, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Sickle Cell Disease International Organization, Global Sickle Cell Research Network and supported by the LOC. The congress is expected to bring together medical and research scientists, public health officials, community-based sickle cell organizations, national, non-governmental organizations and people suffering from the disease to find solutions to the challenge. According to Mr Mettle-Nunoo, the congress was important because the disease, together with other communicable diseases, had debilitating effect on the quality of life and economic well-being of patients and their families. "The negative effects of the sickle cell disease on the human and economic development of the country cannot be taken for granted. The Ministry is happy that the upcoming congress would provide one of the platforms to enable researchers to meet to share ideas on the ways of finding solutions to this disease," he said. Mr Mettle-Nunoo charged members of the LOC to be committed to make the congress successful. Dr Ivy Ekem, Chairperson of LOC, expressed gratitude for the responsibility entrusted in their care and pledged to work hard to live up to expectation. She said the congress would address issues related to the health, educational and psycho-social needs of affected persons and families, public health issues, medical care, research, programme development as well as development of international community based organizations. Briefing journalists on the prevalent rate of the disease in the country, Dr Ekem said two per cent of children born everyday had the disease, adding that the figure represented the statistics available solely to the sickle cell centre at Korle Bu Teaching Hospital. She said a national newborn screening programme was expected to be implemented soon following the pilot programme initiated in Kumasi since 1995. Other members of the LOC are; Dr Jemima Dennis-Antwi, Mr Eddie Tettey, Mr Steve Mawuenyega, Professor G. Ankrah-Badu, Mr Peter Mensah, Mrs Mary Lamptey and Dr Frederica Sey. The rest are Ms Tina Ayeh, Mrs Odile Nkrumah, Mr Andrews Adjei Druye, Mr Kodwo Morgan, Mr Ekow Arthur, Ms Lucy Adomah, and a representative each from the Ghana Health Service (GHS) and Ghana Police Service (GPS). Source: GNA