Jinja hospital faces four-month sickle cell drug shortage

Sickle cell patients at Jinja Regional Referral Hospital have gone about four months without hydroxyurea, a key medication used to manage the disease, forcing some patients to buy the drug themselves or go without treatment.

Hydroxyurea helps reduce painful crises and other complications in people with sickle cell disease by increasing foetal haemoglobin levels in the blood.

The concerns were raised on Monday during a visit to Jinja Regional Referral Hospital by Parliament’s Health Committee to assess the state of health services at the facility.