•Plans conference to raise awareness Oct 13 at UNILAG

By Ishola Balogun

In Africa, particularly Nigeria, people living with brittle bone conditions, weak muscles, brittle teeth, and hearing loss are quick to associate it with evil spirits, witchcraft, and curses among others, leading to children, families and sufferers being neglected and abandoned. Experts have attributed this rare condition to Osteogenesis imperfecta, a condition that causes weak bones to break easily.

Awareness of this condition, therefore, becomes imperative to clear doubts and focus on how it can be treated early enough particularly among children.

Ambassador Tarela Aghanti, the Founder and President of the Osteogenesis Imperfecta Foundation Nigeria, (OIFN) said severity of this condition varies among affected people, adding that multiple fractures become imminent while milder cases may involve only a few fractures over a person’s lifetime. She said sometimes, the bones break easily with a sneeze if one has this condition.

Aghanti stressed that there are various recognized forms of OI which are distinguished by their features and genetic causes. “Depending on the genetic cause, OI may be inherited (more commonly) or autosomal recessive manner. At this moment there is no cure for this rare condition but can only be maintained by bisphosphonate medications, corrective surgeries, love, and care.

“Over the year, there has been no support for sufferers and their families. Sufferers from this rare condition have been left to languish in pain, anxiety, and trauma, and even death. “However, since the inception of OIFN, the charity has transformed the narrative of sufferers by giving them hope and bringing about changes through advice, mobility equipment and six-monthly medication to help strengthen their bones.

“Awareness in Nigeria is well needed to help disabuse the minds of people that this condition is associated with witchcraft, evil spirit, it is very important to create awareness for early intervention in affected children so they can start treatment early to help children and families leave life and be accepted by their wider families and the society.

She hinted that the foundation in collaboration with the National Youth Council of Nigeria, NYCN, Europe Chapter, will hold a conference on brittle bone to further raise awareness on the impact of pain, OI corrective surgery, Bisphosphonate drugs, Vit. D and how this affects the mental health.

According to her, the event will hold on October 13, at the J.F Adeajiyi Auditorium, University of Lagos, UNILAG, Akoka, Lagos, Nigeria by 10am.

Aghanti however called on governments and corporate bodies to work with relevant organizations including OIF to reach sufferers across the nation as well as make available and affordable too, the much-needed medications for strengthening, improving bone density and reduce the incidence of the spine and non-spine fractures particularly among children living with brittle bone condition in Nigeria and across Africa.