Two Nigerian laboratories have taken big steps to boost genetics medicine in Africa

ACEGID and 54Gene will play a key role in driving precision medicine on the continent

This month scientists successfully used gene editing for treating sickle cell disease, a hereditary disease common among people of African ancestry. This was done by identifying and cutting out a gene that instructs the production of the defective sickle-shaped cells in people with the disease.

It would not have been possible without the sequencing of the entire human genome that makes up human DNA, particularly that of people of Black African ancestry.

This approach is called precision medicine and involves the use of genetic information of a person or group for the development of disease diagnosis or treatment for that person or group. It is producing remarkable health outcomes in other regions, but Africa is lagging.

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