The Ministry of Social Solidarity commemorated World Cerebral Palsy Day on 6 October with the aim of raising community awareness of the rights of individuals with cerebral palsy(CP) and enabling them to participate actively in various aspects of life, according to a press release by the ministry.
CP is a group of permanent movement disorders caused by brain damage that occurs before, during or shortly after birth. It affects muscle tone, posture and motor skills, and may also lead to learning difficulties, speech and swallowing problems, and in some cases, seizures. CP is a non-progressive but lifelong disease, and its severity varies widely among individuals.
The ministry is working on implementing integrated care and support programmes targeting people with CP and their families. These efforts include rehabilitation and physical therapy services through affiliated institutions and centres, the provision of prosthetic and assistive devices and the issuance of disability identification cards.
Financial and moral support is also extended to lower income families of people with CP through the Karama programme which includes economic empowerment initiatives and vocational training and rehabilitation.
Wahat Nour Al-Hayat, an NGO registered with the Ministry of Social Solidarity, focuses on specialised rehabilitation for children with CP.
As part of the ministry’s support, Nasser Social Bank provided Wahat Nour Al-Hayat with advanced neurological and physical rehabilitation equipment, including a C-MiII VR device, worth LE12 million,which uses virtual reality to improve movement, balance and functional abilities in children with physical disabilities
“Our goal is providing all the services that children with cerebral palsy need in easy-to-reach locations across all governorates. Our vision is for every child with CP to be able to integrate, learn and be independent in their daily needs,” Amir Ahmed, director of the fundraising department at the NGO, said. Wahat has been operating since 2010 and currently has 16 branches serving 14 governorates.
“We offer comprehensive medical and academic support across all branches, including physical therapy, speech therapy, skill development, occupational therapy, sensory integration, academic support, surgical procedures, and prosthetic devices.”
According to the National Survey of Persons with Disabilities issued by the Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics in 2022, one in every 1,000 children in Egypt is born with cerebral palsy. Causes include genetic factors, complications during pregnancy or childbirth, and injuries in early childhood such as falls, blows or choking incidents.
“The biggest obstacle is the lack of donations, which the entire facility relies on,” Ahmed says, noting that the association serves 3,000 children per month, including new and follow-up cases.
“Other obstacles include bullying and inappropriate treatment of patients, which highlights the need for more awareness campaigns about CP and the importance of treating patients and their families with dignity,” he adds.
Mothers are especially affected by insensitive comments even from family members due to the lack of awareness about the condition, according to Ahmed. To address this, the foundation holds psychological support sessions for mothers to help them cope with such problems.
Despite these challenges, Ahmed shares inspiring success stories of children who have fully integrated into society after receiving treatment at Wahat. “We’ve qualified approximately 550 children. Some are studying at the Faculty of Mass Communication and other colleges, others sing at the opera, and some have become champions in swimming and taekwondo. Several were honored at the Qaderoun Bekhtelaf [ableddifferently] ceremony by President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi,” he says.
“In the next five years, we hope to acquire land to build the first specialised hospital for the rehabilitation of children with cerebral palsy.”
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