Pay attention to issues affecting children with cerebral palsy – Otiko Djaba to Government

Madam Otiko Djaba, a Disability advocate, has called on the government to pay attention to issues affecting especially mothers of children with cerebral palsy.

She said: “These mothers go through a lot of stress and frustrations and I fear for a future where the mothers may not be there and the children are left to die.

Ms. Djaba who is also the founder of Henry Djaba Foundation, a disabled based organization, made the call when she hosted some mothers of children with cerebral palsy as part of World Cerebral Palsy day.

World CP Day is celebrated on the 6^th of October every year to draw attention to issues affecting people with cerebral palsy.

This year’s celebration is on the theme: Millions of Reasons, calling on people to celebrate persons with cerebral palsy for the millions of reasons they need to be celebrated.

Ms. Djaba lamented that it is as a matter of urgency that government should act, by creating rehabilitation centres, ensuring that schools implemented the inclusive education policy and work on creating a good social support system that helped mothers with trained caregivers.

Ms. Emelia Gynkel Bawa, an Executive member of the Special Mothers Project, an advocacy programme on cerebral palsy issues, called on government to include the medications given to children with cerebral palsy in the National Health Insurance scheme.

She also called on the general public to show empathy and accept children with cerebral palsy, saying, “those children are not cursed, they are blessed and need to be loved.”