[Sickle cell disease in Africa: current situation and strategies for improving the quality and duration of survival].

The prevalence of sickle cell disease is extremely high in Africa, where 150,000 to 300,000 homozygous individuals are born every year. Africans were well aware of the disease before its first description in America. Spectacular progress has been made in our knowledge of the pathophysiology of SCD, and patient management has vastly improved in northern countries where the prevalence of the disease is low. We describe the current situation of sickle cell disease in Africa and propose strategies for improving disease prevention and patient management.