Archive · 7 Sep 2026
Bhopal Doctors’ Sickle Cell Initiative Gains Harvard Recognition
Two doctors from Bhopal worked with tribal communities in Chhindwara.
In 2018, they screened nearly 25,000 people for sickle cell disease.
They faced problems such as low literacy, limited healthcare access and stigma.
The doctors wanted people to understand genetic risks more easily.
Dr Smita Nambison created a colour-coded card with holes to show genetic probabilities.
The card helps explain Mendelian genetics in a simple visual way.
It is connected to a mobile application and a central database.
Their work was described in Kevin Davies’s book published by Harvard University Press.
This brought international attention to their approach.
Professor Nisanth Nambison and Dr Smita Nambison received international recognition for their sickle cell initiative.
The couple screened nearly 25,000 people in tribal communities in Chhindwara in 2018.
Their work addressed low literacy, limited healthcare access and stigma surrounding genetic disorders.
Dr Smita Nambison developed the colour-coded, punch-hole GIPCI Card to simplify genetic counselling.
The initiative combines screening, counselling, a mobile application and a central database to explain genetic risks.
- Who
- Homeopathic doctors Professor Nisanth Nambison and Dr Smita Nambison.
- What
- Their sickle cell screening and genetic-counselling initiative received international recognition in a Harvard University Press book.
- When
- The screening took place in 2018; the recognition appears in the book Curved Air: A Biography of Sickle Cell Anaemia.
- Where
- The work was conducted among tribal communities in Chhindwara, Madhya Pradesh, by doctors from Bhopal.
- Why
- The initiative aimed to address limited healthcare access, low literacy and stigma while helping prospective couples understand genetic risks.
- Doctors
- Professor Nisanth Nambison and Dr Smita Nambison
- Screening location
- Tribal communities in Chhindwara, Madhya Pradesh
- Screening year
- 2018
- People screened
- Nearly 25,000
- Recognition
- Featured in Curved Air: A Biography of Sickle Cell Anaemia
- Author
- Molecular geneticist Kevin Davies
- Counselling tool
- The colour-coded, punch-hole GIPCI Card