Indore: Governor’s advice to Adivasis, ‘Don’t marry if suffering from sickle cell anaemia’

Indore (Madhya Pradesh): The Governor of Madhya Pradesh, Mangubhai Patel, on Monday, advised Adivasi community members suffering from sickle cell anaemia not to get married without getting treated for it and also asked them to get their test done before getting hitched. He was presiding over a seminar on ‘Contribution of Tribal Heroes to Freedom Struggle’, organised at the DAVV auditorium to mark Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav under the joint aegis of the National Commission for the Scheduled Tribes, New Delhi, and Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya. The keynote speaker in the programme was Rajaram Katara.

“Of the over 8.5 crore population in Madhya Pradesh, 21% belong to the tribal communities; among them, many are suffering from sickle cell disease due to which many tribal children die at a very young age,” the Governor said.

The Governor, expressing his concern about marriage and the spread of the sickle cell disease in the tribal communities, said, “I advise all the people of the community to get their sickle cell test done before marriage and, if any of the partners has such a disease, they should get treated for it and avoid getting married.”

“Because of sickle cell disease, many tribal children lose their lives every year. I urge the university to organise seminars to raise awareness among the tribal society about sickle cell disease and its medical treatment,” the Governor said.