Story

Forward Cell Collective is an empowerment-led movement for young adults living with Sickle Cell Disease.

We treat SCD as a reality to be mastered, not a sentence to be served and we build the path that lets Warriors live fully.

Our Mission

To equip Warriors aged 20–40 with the tools, network, and identity to build extraordinary lives despite SCD — and to turn that proof into a global standard for how the world supports people with chronic conditions.

The Problem We Exist For

SCD turns red blood cells into rigid, crescent-shaped obstacles that clog blood vessels — causing severe pain, organ damage, stroke, and early death. Nigeria carries the world’s highest burden, yet public awareness remains critically low.

The 2021 Nigerian Sickle Cell Bill passed, but implementation lags far behind the scale of the crisis. Warriors are surviving without a system designed to help them thrive.

150,000

Newborns affected every year in Nigeria

50M

Carry the trait across Nigeria

~21 yrs

Avg life expectancy vs

54 in high-income nations

~50%

Of children die before their fifth birthday

A confident young Nigerian professional working in a bright, sunlit modern Lagos office, looking thoughtfully out of a large window, warm rich tones

The Human Cost (ages 20–40)

The 20–40 bracket is where SCD exacts its heaviest toll on ambition. Four forces hold a generation back:

Healthcare abandonment: The move from paediatric to adult care is a cliff-edge. Warriors lose their specialist support between 18–21, and most adult hospitals have no SCD protocols at all.

Career instability: Unpredictable crises and the absence of SCD-aware HR policies lead to dismissal, discrimination, and being pushed to the margins of work.

Psychological weight: Chronic pain, the fear of disclosure, and an imposed ‘patient’ identity can collapse a person’s long-term vision for their life.

Family planning burden: Genotype disclosure, genetic counselling, and IVF/PGT-M decisions — often navigated alone, without guidance or resources.

“From 15 Warriors in Nigeria to a global standard for how the world supports people with SCD.”

1.15-Warrior cohorts. Growing year on year- supporting each other and having the support on mentors with SCD, to achieve them to their goals in life.

2. SCD-inclusive HR policy institutionalised, and a push for global recognition of SCD-inclusive HR policy model.

Our Vision - From Pilot to Global Movement

Empowerment, not pity. We build capability, not dependency. Warriors leave more capable, more confident, more in command.
Identity beyond ‘patient’. We help Warriors reclaim a self-concept that SCD doesn’t define.
Community. Warriors lift Warriors. Today’s mentee becomes tomorrow’s mentor.
Legacy. We’re building an institution designed to outlast any single cohort, founder, or year.