This Week in Sickle Cell News January 11th-17th

By Sean Marshall
It was reported this week by Information Nigeria that famous Nollywood actress Mercy Aigbe,37, has just been endorsed as an ambassador of the Dubai Africa Sickle Cell Project. For those not in the loop Nollywood refers to the Nigerian Hollywood film industry and Mercy Aigbe is considered a big deal in her industry.
This was all because the passing of Aigbe's late sister Joy. Her death involved complications due to sickle cell anemia. This was the driving factor that allowed Aigbe to take up the fight against sickle cell.
Although it doesn’t sound like the most prevalent news to most outside of Nigeria the Dubai Africa Sickle Cell Project is hoping for attention as Aigbe is the first ambassador the organization has ever had. If they can receive the spotlight for even a moment to promote sickle cell awareness it will be worth it. Especially if the news even gains some much needed funding as a result.
We have seen this before in the NFL with the McCourty or with supermodel Jourdan Dunn. The concept isn't new but it is always welcome. It reminds many that sickle cell disease is still out there and that it is still dangerous and still has a strong impact on the world.
The Sickle News will continue to monitor news channels to see how Aigbe's presence affects sickle cell awareness in the future.
The original article can be found here:
http://www.informationng.com/2016/01/nollywood-actress-mercy-aigbe-signs-on-as-ambassador-for-sickle-cell-initiative.html
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