The President of Down Syndrome Foundation Nigeria (DSFN), Mrs Rose Mordi, has called for the establishment of institutions for the training of health personnel in management of different kinds of disabilities.
Mordi made the call in an interview with journalists in Lagos on Thursday.
She said that the Federal Government could empower health workers by training them in the institutions to be abreast of new technologies and practices regarding the management of people with disabilities.
According to her, to effectively manage, groom, educate and nurture someone with disability requires particular skills and acquisitions peculiar to that disability.
She noted that these skills, acquisitions and methods change by the day for better.
Mordi said that health personnel who care for the disabilities need to be regularly trained to be up-to-date with the new trends, methods and technologies in the management of the disabilities in order to impact positively on them.
According to her, there is need for more institutions where the health personnel, including the educators would be trained in different disability specialty for efficient service delivery.
Mordi emphasised the need for government to keep monitoring and reviewing programmes of the institutions to ensure they do not perform below standards.
She said, “In addition to establishment of the training institutions, the disability’s management personnel can as well be sent abroad from time to time for further training and up scaling of their knowledge.”
She stressed that the educators/teachers also need to undergo training from time to time and be provided with the right learning materials suitable for the disabilities they handle.
“Due to lack of adequate and regular training, most of the persons who manage persons living with disabilities are still operating with the old and obsolete knowledge they acquired many years ago.
“The world is changing; new trends and technologies evolve on daily basis and the disability sub-sector should not be left behind.
“People with disabilities are people with extraordinary talents. Yet, they are often forgotten.
“When people with disabilities are denied opportunities, they are more likely to fall into poverty and people living in conditions of poverty are more likely to develop disabilities.
“Therefore, managing and caring for them through well trained and skilled personnel will help them to fully actualise their full potential in life.
“But, with the obsolete knowledge, it will be difficult for the personnel to deliver and impact positively on the people that needed their services,” Mordi said.
Mordi listed the common disabilities found in the society to include vision impairment, deaf or hard of hearing, mental health conditions, intellectual disability, acquired brain injury, autism spectrum disorder and physical disability.
She noted that health personnel should be trained to be specialist in the different categories of disabilities for optimum performance, saying that majority of the children with developmental/intellectual disorders do not have access to care.
“Childhood developmental disorders and disabilities are growing challenge to healthcare systems around the globe.
“This means that a stable, protective and emotionally supportive environment should be set up by governments, parents and other caregivers to promote the child’s good health and learning.
“Given the additional challenges that they experience, parents of children with developmental disorders/delays, particularly Down syndrome, should be specifically supported in providing nurturing care to the children,” she said