Our Current Projects
Sickle Forward is working on multiple newborn screening and follow-up clinical management projects throughout sub-Saharan Africa. A few of these ongoing projects are highlighted below.
Rapid Newborn Diagnostics
Sickle Forward believes that every baby deserves access to early screening for sickle cell disease, regardless of where they are born. Our point-of-care screening approach is designed to work in real-world settings, including remote and resource-limited environments where traditional laboratory infrastructure may not be available. Across our partner sites, we use rapid lateral flow tests, including HemotypeSC and SickleSCAN, which can provide results in as little as 10 minutes. This rapid turnaround allows families to be informed before leaving the hospital and enables newborns with sickle cell disease to be quickly connected to trusted clinical follow-up programs.
For infants with a positive initial screen, we support confirmatory testing using the Gazelle electrophoresis platform. Together, these tools create a practical, scalable, and decentralized model for early diagnosis, helping ensure that screening leads directly to timely care and life-saving treatment.
Large-scale Screening
Sickle Forward’s large-scale newborn and early childhood screening projects across eight countries in Africa are designed to help close one of the most urgent gaps in sickle cell care: early diagnosis followed by timely connection to life-saving treatment. Our work is built on trusted partnerships with experienced in-country leaders who understand the local health system, have deep community relationships, and maintain strong connections with national and regional health care leadership. Together, we are advancing a screening model that can function in remote and rural environments where traditional laboratory infrastructure is often unavailable. By using practical, point-of-care diagnostic strategies and linking families to locally available care, this approach is both economically feasible and scalable. These partnerships allow screening programs to move beyond isolated pilots and toward sustainable systems that can reach more children where they are born and live. Through this work, Sickle Forward is helping build a foundation for earlier diagnosis, stronger care networks, and improved survival for children with sickle cell disease across Africa.
Critical Treatment
Sickle Forward’s goal is to ensure that every infant diagnosed with sickle cell disease is rapidly linked to life-saving treatment, including malaria prevention, antibiotic prophylaxis, and access to hydroxyurea. We promote care models that leverage existing primary health care networks and community health workers to keep children connected to ongoing treatment close to home. We believe that decentralized care availability is essential to improving survival, especially for families living far from major hospitals or specialty centers. Sickle Forward also supports the development of reduced-cost supply networks for these critical treatment components so that screening can lead to sustainable, accessible care.
Awareness
Awareness and sensitization events are essential to the success of newborn and early childhood screening partnerships because they build trust, improve understanding of sickle cell disease, and help families recognize the importance of early diagnosis and follow-up care. These efforts also strengthen engagement with community leaders, health workers, and local health systems, creating a shared commitment to linking every diagnosed child to life-saving treatment. By pairing screening with education, Sickle Forward and its partners help reduce stigma and support long-term participation in care.