National Sickle Cell Anaemia Elimination Mission

What is the National Sickle Cell Anaemia Elimination Mission?

National Sickle Cell Anaemia Elimination Mission is a public health programme of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, implemented through the National Health Mission in partnership with the Ministry of Tribal Affairs. The mission was announced in the Union Budget 2023-24 and launched by the Prime Minister on 1 July 2023 at Shahdol, Madhya Pradesh.

Sickle cell disease is an inherited disorder of haemoglobin that causes chronic anaemia, episodes of severe pain, repeated infections and organ damage. In India it is concentrated in tribal populations, which is why the mission's geography follows tribal districts rather than the whole country.

The stated goal is to eliminate sickle cell disease as a public health problem by 2047, the centenary of Indian independence. According to the mission portal, the immediate operational target is universal screening of 7 crore people aged 0 to 40 years in affected tribal areas, alongside counselling and care.

Three strategic pillars

• Health promotion; awareness generation and pre-marital genetic counselling.
• Prevention, universal screening and early detection, with a screening cost norm of Rs 100 per person covering the test, record-keeping and related costs.
• all-round management — treatment and follow-up at every level of the public health system, supported by community-level care.

Who is eligible for the National Sickle Cell Anaemia Elimination Mission?

You can get screened free if:

• You are aged 0 to 40 years and live in a district covered by the mission in one of the 17 high-prevalence states. Screening began with the 0-18 age group and has been extended in stages up to 40.
• You are attending a government school, Ayushman Arogya Mandir, primary health centre, community health centre or district hospital in a covered area, or a screening camp run by the state health department.
• You are a pregnant woman or an adolescent reached through existing platforms such as RBSK and PMSMA, which the mission uses for outreach.

Points where people are commonly not eligible or not covered:

• Individuals outside the 0-40 age band are not part of the mass screening target, though a doctor can still order a test on clinical grounds.
• Residents of states outside the 17 covered are not part of the mission's screening drive; testing there follows normal clinical referral.
• National Sickle Cell Anaemia Elimination Mission provides no cash benefit, pension or disability allowance, so an individual cannot apply to it for money. Financial support for a person disabled by sickle cell disease comes through disability certification, the Unique Disability ID and the relevant social welfare schemes, not from this mission.

There is no income test, no caste certificate requirement and no form. Anyone in a covered area who asks for a sickle cell test at a government facility should receive one.

What documents are required for sickle cell screening?

Screening is not refused for lack of documents. Aadhaar is asked for so the result can be recorded against the person and the card issued, but the test itself is free and unconditional.

How to apply for sickle cell screening under the mission

National Sickle Cell Anaemia Elimination Mission has no application form. The steps below are the practical route to being screened and to getting treatment.

1. Visit the nearest Ayushman Arogya Mandir, primary health centre, community health centre or district hospital in a covered district and ask for the sickle cell screening test, or wait for the ASHA-led camp in your village or your child's school.
2. Give your name, age and Aadhaar number if you have it, so the screening record can be created against you.
3. Undergo the point-of-care solubility test, which gives a same-day result.
4. If the point-of-care test is positive, complete the confirmatory HPLC test at the designated laboratory the health worker directs you to.
5. Collect your sickle cell card, which records whether you are normal, a carrier with sickle cell trait, or a person with sickle cell disease.
6. Attend the genetic counselling session offered with the result, which is the point of the exercise for carriers considering marriage or children.
7. If diagnosed with the disease, register at the facility for follow-up care: hydroxyurea therapy, folic acid, transfusion support and pain management as prescribed.

What does the mission provide?

• Free screening at a government-funded cost norm of Rs 100 per person.
• A sickle cell card recording the person's genetic status.
• Genetic counselling, including pre-marital counselling, which is the main preventive tool against transmitting the disease.
• Treatment and follow-up through the public health system, with district hospitals and medical colleges handling complications.
• Awareness activities through schools, panchayats, community committees and NGOs.

What progress has the mission made?

According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, about 6 crore people had been screened by July 2025 against the 7 crore target. Of those, approximately 2.15 lakh people were diagnosed with sickle cell disease and 16.7 lakh were identified as carriers, and states had distributed about 2.6 crore sickle cell cards. Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Telangana, Karnataka and Uttarakhand were among the states closest to their screening targets.

Help and information

• Mission portal: sickle.nhm.gov.in, which carries state dashboards and guidelines
• State health helpline: 104
• National Health Helpline: 1075
• Local ASHA worker or Ayushman Arogya Mandir, the practical first contact for screening and for follow-up care

Screening, counselling and the sickle cell card are free. No one should be charged for a test under this mission at a government facility.