A maximal-coverage approach to prioritizing newborn sickle cell screening sites in Uganda using a sickle cell-malaria co-risk surface

Abstract

Using a HbS-PfPR_2-10 co-risk surface and a maximal-coverage approach yielded 50 ranked candidate hub locations for newborn sickle cell screening programmes that capture 65.6 percent of baseline co-risk with 28 candidate hubs able to operationalize screening within the existing public health facility infrastructure. The ranked hub list, coverage curve, and district equity summaries offer the Uganda Ministry of Health and partners a transparent way to phase expansion of newborn sickle cell screening and to align new hubs with malaria control activities in the highest-burden districts.