NGO Laments Poor Disability Healthcare In Nigeria

1000’s of households in Nigeria proceed to face immense challenges in accessing correct healthcare and assist for youngsters with disabilities, a non-governmental organisation, OAK Centre Prime, has lamented.

Caring for youngsters with disabilities within the nation stays an amazing problem. Households face stigma, insufficient healthcare, monetary burdens, and an absence of presidency assist. Though Nigeria signed the Incapacity Act in 2007 and ratified it in 2010, implementation has been gradual, leaving dad and mom to shoulder the duty alone. Many battle to afford important medical providers, with some compelled to hunt care overseas at an insufferable price. Others merely can’t afford remedy, leaving youngsters with out the assist they should thrive.

OAK Centre Prime goals to bridge this hole by providing a lifeline to households who’ve been left behind. The centre will give attention to medical care, rehabilitation, and advocacy, making certain that youngsters with disabilities obtain the standard assist they deserve.

The chief duty officer of OAKonsult Disabilities, Mrs Olufunke Adeloye, in an interview with LEADERSHIP, mentioned the institution of the centre comes from a deeply private expertise, at the same time as she hopes that initiative won’t solely remodel particular person lives but additionally set a precedent for incapacity care throughout Nigeria.

“In April 2010, my daughter, Oluwatoyitan Adeloye, suffered extreme mind injury resulting from medical negligence in Nigeria. Determined for higher care, we relocated to the UK, the place she was recognized with a number of complicated situations, together with Cerebral Palsy, Epilepsy, and International Developmental Delay. Regardless of her struggles, Oluwatoyitan remained a beacon of power, defying medical expectations till her passing in October 2024,” she revealed.

As a substitute of permitting grief to devour her, Adeloye turned her ache into goal, vowing to create a centre that may forestall different households from enduring the identical hardships. “OAK Centre Prime will present specialised remedy, medical assist, and academic providers, providing a holistic method to incapacity care in Nigeria,” she assured.

With the groundbreaking ceremony on the horizon, Adeloye is asking on authorities businesses, company organizations, medical professionals, and most people to assist the imaginative and prescient. She emphasised that true change requires collective effort—from funding and coverage enforcement to elevated consciousness {and professional} volunteering.

“This isn’t nearly one centre. It’s about making a motion that ensures each youngster, no matter capability, has entry to the care and dignity they deserve,” she mentioned.