SIDES, Katsina Primary Healthcare Agency Train Warriors in Content Creation and Story Telling For Change

Balarabe Musa, Katsina, Nigeria

As the world unites this September to mark International Sickle Cell Awareness Month 2025, an inspiring partnership between the Katsina State Primary Health Care Agency (KSPHCA) and Sustainable Innovation and Development Solutions (SIDES) is rewriting the narrative of advocacy in Nigeria.

In a landmark one-day training on Content Creation and Storytelling for Impact, held at the Agency headquarters in Katsina, sickle cell warriors, healthcare professionals, journalists, civil society leaders, and government representatives gathered with a shared mission: to harness the power of storytelling to amplify awareness, influence policy, and transform lives.

Giving Voice to the Warriors

For decades, sickle cell disease has been one of Nigeria’s most underreported health crises, despite the country carrying the largest global burden with about 150,000 babies born annually with SCD (WHO, 2021). Too often, the lived experiences of those battling the disease are drowned by stigma, misinformation, and silence.

At the training, however, the silence was broken. Warriors stood up and shared their journeys of pain, resilience, and hope, underscoring the urgent need for accessible healthcare, community support, and bold leadership.

“Stories have the power to break barriers, correct misconceptions, and inspire action,” said Dr. Musa Abdullahi Sufi, renowned health advocate and Senior Vision Director at SIDES.

He furher said “By equipping warriors and stakeholders with the tools to tell their own stories, we are not just raising awareness, we are demanding change.”

A Model for Advocacy

The sessions provided practical skills in digital content creation, advocacy communication, and storytelling techniques tailored to public health campaigns. Also, the Artificial Intelligence tools like CANVA and ChatGPT were intridced with pratical session led by Dr Sufi.

Participants learned how to use social media, community platforms, and personal testimonies to cut through misinformation and mobilize support.

Representatives of the Katsina State Primary Health Care Agency reaffirmed the government’s commitment to supporting initiatives that give people living with sickle cell disease both a voice and visibility.

This training is a milestone in PHC journey to strengthen advocacy and deliver people-centered healthcare. By empowering warriors to tell their own stories, we make their struggles visible and their voices impossible to ignore, a senior official from the Agency highlighted.

Partnerships that Inspire Change

The training was further strengthened through collaboration with Katsina Sickle Cell Home, Association of Persons with Sickle Cell Zango Local Government and Sickle Cell Alleviation Initiative (SCAI), organizations that have long championed awareness and support for persons living with SCD.

This synergy between government, civil society, and grassroots advocates demonstrates the power of partnerships in addressing a complex health challenge.

Globally, progress has been made, countries like Ghana have rolled out national newborn screening programs, while the United States and United Kingdom continue to pioneer gene therapy and advanced care models. Yet, Africa still faces deep inequities in access, funding, and awareness. Nigeria’s burden makes it a frontline for both the challenge and the solution.

Linking Local Action to Global Goals

The Katsina initiative reflects broader international commitments, aligning with the WHO’s Global Sickle Cell Disease Strategy (2021), the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 3 – Good Health and Wellbeing), and the African Union’s Agenda 2063, which call for reducing preventable deaths and creating inclusive healthcare systems.

Dr. Sufi urged policymakers to act “This September is not only about awareness, it is about action. Leaders must adopt best practices already working across the globe, from newborn screening to advanced genetic counseling. What we need now is political will, funding, access Universal Health Care to poor and vulnerable, and coordinated action.”

A Call to Action

For participants, the training was more than capacity-building, it was empowerment. One sickle cell warrior, moved to tears after sharing her story publicly for the first time and saw People concern and emphaty, said:

“Today, I feel seen. I feel empowered to tell my story in a way that can change minds and policies. That is the beginning of real change.”

Already, the trained warriors and media participants already flooded social media with with creative stories snd reports in less than 6 hours after the training. This is truely breakthrough in social change.

As the world shines a spotlight on sickle cell this September, the story from Katsina is both a reminder and a call to action. Awareness must translate into concrete change. Governments, donors, civil society, and the media must work together to ensure that the lives of sickle cell warriors are not defined by neglect but by dignity, opportunity, and hope.

From Katsina and beyond, this movement is gaining momentum driven by voices that will no longer be silenced.