More than 6.83 crore individuals in tribal-dominated areas across India have been screened for sickle cell anaemiaas of February 3, 2026, under the National Sickle Cell Anaemia Elimination Mission (NSCAEM), the government informed Parliament on Tuesday.
Of those screened, 2,37,981 people were identified as suffering from sickle cell disease, while 19,32,500 individuals were found to be carriers, according to data shared by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
Screening under the national mission is being conducted among the targeted age group of 0–40 years at all health facilities across 17 tribal-dominated states identified as high-burden regions for the disease. The initiative aims at early diagnosis and management of sickle cell disease among vulnerable populations.
As per the Sickle Cell Disease portal, Odisha accounted for 60.83 lakh screenings, forming a significant share of the nationwide effort carried out so far.
The update was provided by Minister of State for Health Anupriya Patel in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha, highlighting the scale and progress of the government’s nationwide screening drive aimed at eliminating sickle cell anaemia.
