“It took me years to open up about this…” — Adekunle Gold shares his Sickle Cell journey

 

Adekunle Gold:Photo credited to Google

Singer and songwriter Adekunle Gold recently shared something deeply personal — he was born with Sickle Cell Disease.

In a heartfelt tweet on X (formerly Twitter), he opened up about the long road it took to speak publicly about his condition.

“It took me years to finally be able to share publicly that I was born with Sickle Cell,” he wrote.

For the past two years, Adekunle has been using his performances as a platform to talk about living with Sickle Cell. But now, he feels it’s time to do even more.

He reminded us of a sobering reality: every year, over 100,000 children are born with Sickle Cell in Nigeria alone. Despite this staggering number, the disease remains severely underfunded and under-researched — largely because it primarily affects people of West African descent.

Sickle Cell currently has no cure, and many affected individuals face a lifetime of pain and complications.

Adekunle’s mission? To support the independent organizations that are already out there fighting this disease — through research, advocacy, and outreach.

“I want to make sure those doing the vital work to fight Sickle Cell get the support and resources they truly need,” he said.

It's not just a celebrity cause for him — it's personal. And by sharing his story, he’s shining a light on an issue that deserves much more attention.

Let’s stand with Adekunle and others living with Sickle Cell. Awareness is the first step toward change.