By Chioma Obinna

LAGOS- As the world prepares to mark the first- ever World Down Syndrome Day,  tagged: “Building Our Future,”  the Federal Government has been urged to stop the needless deaths of Nigerian children with the condition by providing early medical, social and educational interventions.

Statistics available had shown that most Nigerian children living with Down syndrome die before age five for lack of early medical intervention.  Down syndrome is a chromosomal condition that is associated with intellectual disability, a characteristic facial appearance, and poor muscle tone (hypotonia) in infancy.

Addressing a press conference in Lagos to announce the 1st World Down Syndrome Day, which Nigeria played a major role to ensure the Day was instituted, the National President of the Down Syndrome Foundation of Nigeria, DSFN, Mrs. Rose Mordi, also stressed the need for Government to strengthen birth registration in Nigeria to ensure that most childhood diseases are nip in the bud.

Mordi lamented poor awareness on the condition adding that an estimated seven million people have Down syndrome in the world; unfortunately, Nigeria has no definite figure due to poor birth registration.
She said the incidence rate for Down syndrome globally is approximately 1 in 800.

Continuing, Mordi pointed out that in Nigeria there are no facilities to take care of the children who mostly require early medical, social and educational intervention.

Her words, “In Nigeria today, chromosomal testing are not done for pregnant women as well as other tests required while babies are in the womb.   There are no trained medical personnel for such conditions.  Unfortunately, most of the families are indigent and cannot afford treatment abroad.  We want the government to create an environment where these children could access treatment as well as train in the schools.

“Another problem affecting these children is the issue of stigma.  Most of them are being stigmatised even by their own families. There is need to fully integrate them early enough to also let the society know that these children are not witches and that there condition is not contagious”