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Saturday, October 4, witnessed parents, guardians, staff and students of Down Syndrome Foundation, Nigeria (DSFN) march down the streets of Lagos with colorful placards, songs and merriment as they staged their annual October advocacy charity walk, which was themed this year ‘Inclusive Healthcare for All’. 

For the Down Syndrome Foundation, October is not just any month in the calendar but a month to raise public awareness about the condition of Down syndrome and to advocate acceptance and inclusion of people with this condition. 

At the forefront of this advocacy is the foundation’s national president and founder of Down syndrome Foundation, Mrs Rose Mordi who decried that people with Down syndrome has been neglected for long. According to her people with Down syndrome often require specific health care, which is not readily offered by the nation’s health care system and needs the government to step into the matter, “We do not want to be taking these children out of the country for medical care as we have been doing before. As everybody knows, globally, there have been a lot of recessions, issues and challenges we don’t have the funds to take them out. Because they are born with a lot of health issues that have been neglected, so many of them die early, not because they have Down syndrome, but because their medical issues have not been addressed.

“Let the government properly fix up our hospitals to be able to address this issue, to take care of Down syndrome health needs. We have the manpower, but the right structure and equipment are not there. The government should put the right structures in place to take care of their medical needs, so that they will be properly included in the spheres of life in the society,” Ms Mordi said.

Also speaking, the national administrator of the foundation, Nike Denis, said the essence of the walk was not only to create awareness about Down syndrome, but also to advocate that people with Down syndrome (PWDs) needs to be given equal opportunities, rights and treatments like every other individual in the society.

“People with Down syndrome are just like everyone else. They have similar dreams and goals, and they want to have successful careers and families. Let them be given equal rights and opportunities like every other citizen in the society. Their health is key to whatever impacts they can make to the country,” she said.

Retired nurse and parent, Veronica Olajundoye, spoke about the conditions of Down syndrome and urge the government to support parents and foundations helping out with such disabilities, “I’m a parent and I have a child with Down syndrome; some parents in Nigeria hide their children with this condition inside the house, which is wrong because these children needs to be loved with care and attention, not kept in the house like a property.’

“This condition can be very heavy on parents and family because aside money PWDs need a lot of love, support and attention to manage them. Some of them have health development issues with their vital organs. Many come up with genetic disorder, such as hole in the heart, sight problem and all that. Paying for surgery in this country as we know is very expensive and it weighs down on the parents but we can’t just afford to leave them. We have other developed countries such as the United State where their government back up programs that they run for people with this condition and we believe Nigeria can do it too. So we are seeking help from our government, to come to the aid of we parents and also for the foundations who take care of them. We need their support seriously,” she said.