Foundation to offer free medicare to special needs children
Stanley Onyekwere, People's Daily
A Non Governmental Organisation (NGO), Royal School of Educational Therapy Foundation (RSETF) Abuja, in collaboration with Brain and Spine Surgery Consortium and SYNLAB Nigeria have concluded plans to offer free medical checks to residents of the Territory especially children with special needs.
The exercise, according to the organisers is targeted at promoting good healthcare delivery system in the territory and early detection of ailments especially for children with disability like autism, down syndrome and cerebral palsy, among others.
Addressing journalists ahead of the event, the founder of RSETF, Dr. Badewa Adejugbe-Williams, stated that the event has been scheduled to hold April 4, at the Exhibition Pavilion, Garki, Abuja.
Adejugbe-Williams, revealed that the project which is the second edition of free family health fair and lecture, will be jointly funded by the Foundation, Brain and Spine Surgery Consortium and Synlab.
She noted that some of Abuja’s best healthcare specialists will carry out free check-up during the fair, just as she tasked residents of the territory to seize this opportunity to come out for the free medical services.
According to her, “the need for all-round medical check-up cannot be over-emphasized. It is important for everybody to know his or her health status from time to time especially this era of strange diseases ravaging the global community.
“What we are planning to do is our own little way of giving back to the society and our contribution to the promotion of healthcare service delivery system, because government cannot do it alone.”
Furthermore, Adejugbe-Williams who is an educational therapist assured that the Foundation is poised to raise awareness during the Austism Awareness month of April, just as she called for support from all stakeholders.
She however frowned at stigmatization of many children with learning disabilities in the society who are often abandoned by their parents, instead of giving them the opportunities to develop their talents for the advantage of the society.
She therefore called on parents and guardians to enroll their wards in Royal School of Educational Therapy Foundation’s vocational and life skills programme and movie project.
The expert equally charged parents not to see any form of neurodevelopmental disorders as a disease, stressing that people living with special needs are just like everyone else, noting such children are capable of independent functions and participation in society.