Early medical,
education and social intervention should be given to people with the
Down Syndrome to enable them to achieve their potentials.
Mrs. Rose Mordi, the President, Down Syndrome Association said this
in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Lagos at the
World Syndrome Day celebration.
She said the celebration with the theme “Aim High Enough,” is to
highlight that people with the syndrome can be useful members of the
society with support and acceptance.
“It is to make Down Syndrome visible to the community and eradicate
any stigma attached to it,” she said.
Mordi said it was imperative to enlighten the people about the
syndrome so as to cut down on the high level of ignorance and
superstition.
She called on the Federal Government to put down medical structures
and equip the hospitals to reduce cost of care for those affected.
“Down Syndrome is not an illness that can kill, it is the medical
condition that they have that could kill,'' she noted.
She cited the example of an early heart detection on a 14-month old
Andrew Duku, who was successfully operated upon in India.
“When an illness in such people are detected and surgery carried out
early, they can live longer to 70 years or more,” she said.
NAN reports that Down Syndrome is a genetic condition involving an
extra chromosome, which occurs around the time of conception.
The persons with the syndrome are said to have 47 chromosomes
instead of the normal 46, making them to have a certain degree of
learning disability and developing slowly than other children.
For every 1,000 children born one per cent is certain to have a Down
Syndrome defect, and the chance of having a child with the syndrome
rises with maternal age.
Majority of children are born to younger women since the over all
birth rate is higher in this age group.
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Dogo and the challenges of nhis (II)
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