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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Isabel Choat in Lusaka

Strokes, terrible pain and early death: can Zambia help beat sickle cell by screening babies?

Desmond Muyenga plays with an inflated surgical glove in the haematology ward where he is being treated for sickle cell, in Lusaka, Zambia.
Desmond Muyenga, eight, plays with an inflated surgical glove in the haematology ward where he is being treated for sickle cell, in Lusaka, Zambia. Photograph: Dana Patel/The Guardian

Eight-year-old Emmanuel Muwowo sits quietly on his hospital bed clutching a blue plastic figurine in one hand. His other hand is fitted with a cannula delivering dextrose saline fluid for rehydration following a stroke four days earlier, the fifth in his short life.

The stroke has affected his movement and speech but he smiles when asked what he likes doing and whispers: “I like playing with my friends.”

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