Today, world attention is focused on persons living with Down Syndrome as the world marks World Down Syndrome Day (WDSD). March 21st every year is observed as WDSD and people with Down syndrome and those who live and work with them organise and participate in activities and events aimed at raising public awareness and creating a single global voice for advocating for the rights, inclusion and well being of people with Down syndrome.
Down syndrome is a congenital disorder caused by a chromosome defect leading to a wide range of developmental delays and physical disabilities.
Speaking to The Next Edition in a telephone chat, the coordinator Down Syndrome Foundation (DSFN), Mrs. Rose Mordi, noted that there was no statistics on the number of people living with Down Syndrome in Nigeria.
According to her gathering statistics is made difficult by the fact that some of the births occur at home, in the rural areas and are not recorded.
Notwithstanding, Mrs Mordi said it was believed that out of every 800 live births, one has Down syndrome.
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On the level of acceptance and integration of people with Down syndrome in the society, she said, “we are not where we were a few years back but we are not where we ought to be.
“There’s been more acceptance of persons from parents, relatives and society in general in the cities but in the rural areas it is still the same. There’s still a lot of negativism and stigmatization of parents and children with Down syndrome.” She disclosed that in some societies children with Down syndrome could get killed.
As part of its activities for this year’s event, the Down Syndrome Foundation is organizing a charity walk /wakabout with the theme “What I bring to my community.” Take off point for the walk is Lagos Television (LTV), Agidingbi, Ikeja.
Meanwhile Down Syndrome International is bringing together people with Down Syndrome, their supporters and advocates, senior representatives of major employers, experts in the field of disability employment, government and UN officials at United Nations Headquarters in New York today, for a meeting aimed at “reaching out to key employment stakeholders to ensure they see the benefits of enabling people with Down syndrome and disabilities to make meaningful contributions in the workplace; then encourage these stakeholders to help bring about positive change.”
The theme for the meeting is “What I bring to the workplace.”
The movement towards World Down Syndrome Day began by the French Association for Research (AFRT), on Trisomy 21 created in 1990 for supporting research and informing on medical and scientific advances in the field of Down Syndrome (Trisomy 21).
In 2005, AFRT selected March 21 as a symbolic date for the Day of Trisomy 21 and on December 20, 2007, the World Health Organisation (WHO) recognised the date. The UN followed suit on December 19, 2011 and also recognised March 21 as WDSD, “to be observed every year beginning in 2012,” and invited all member states, relevant organisations of the UN system and other international organizations as well as civil societies including non-governmental organisations and the private sector to observe WDSD in an appropriate manner, in order to raise public awareness of Down syndrome.”
