By PASSY HAACHIZO –
KAPUTULA Township in Kabwe District of Central Province consists of a number of children living with cerebral palsy.
Six children have so far been identified as those afflicted by the ccondition.
Cerebral palsy occurs when there is damage to the developing brain and it presents as a disorder of movement or posture where those affected cannot stand or sit without support.
A recent population-based study from around the world report prevalence estimates of cerebral palsy to be ranging from 1 to nearly 4 per 1,000 live births or per 1,000 children.
About one in 345 eight-year-old children in the United States have been identified with cerebral palsy, according to 2010 estimates from Centre for Disease Control (CDC)’s Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network.
According to 2006 data from the ADDM Cerebral Palsy Network, black children with cerebral palsy were 1.7 times more likely to have limited or no walking ability compared with white children.
It is difficult ascertain the exact number of children with cerebral palsy in Zambia as most parents with children that have the condition tend to hide their children from the public eye due to self-stigmatisation and that of the society they live in.
However, parents of children living with cerebral palsy and hydrocephalus diseases in Kaputula Township of Kabwe Central Constituency have come out in the public and revealed the suffering they are going through resulting from their children having cerebral palsy and hydrocephalus.
They have appealed to the Department of Social Welfare in Kabwe to incorporate them under a social cash transfer programme to meet the needs of their children.
Kaputula Township has four children with cerebral palsy namely; Brandon Kabimba, Daliso, Favour aged between two and six years and Enock, aged about 22 while those living with hydrocephalus condition are Mwamba and Remedius Mwango, all living within the same area.
Indeed, while cerebral palsy affects a person’s ability to move and maintain balance and posture, hydrocephalus is a neurological disorder caused by an abnormal buildup of cerebrospinal fluid in the ventricles or cavities deep within the brain.
In an interview, Josephine ZibaKabimba, 41, a mother to Brandon Kabimba appealed to the Ministry of Community Development through the Department of Social Welfare to attend to the plight of children living with cerebral palsy and hydrocephalus.
Ms Kabimba said it was unfortunate that the children who were both in a single area had caused their parents and guardians emotionally stressed as they were economically incapacitated and needed an extra hand to keep their children continue living.
She said the parents had registered their children with the Department of Social Welfare as beneficiaries in the previous allocation of the social cash transfer but unfortunately no one was considered.
Ms Kabimba also made a passionate appeal to well-wishers to come for them, adding that the children always needed the availability of diapers, napkins, soap and surf among others which had made their parents spend sleepless nights.
My son was born on December 5, 2017 and he never cried for two weeks and had to survive on oxygen, and drip while in an incubator, but since that time to date he has been crying uncontrollably,” Ms Kabimba said.
And Kaputula Ward Persons Living with Disabilities Francis Christopher Chali said urgent attention was needed to the children with conditions in the area and that the best the Department would do was to add the children to the list on disabled adults.
“Mr Chali said the disabled children mostly were living without fathers to fend for their needs.
“We have about seven children with conditions in the area and all they need is help,” Mr Chali said.
Health experts have provided an insight on the scourge as regards to the causes and the degrees in which the ailment manifests itself in children and the need for expecting mothers and their partners needed to be tested for syphilis, HIV/AIDS, and hepatitis to protect their unborn babies from these diseases which could affect their babies if untreated.
A paediatrician at the University Teaching Hospital Christina Chawanzi said that cerebral palsy occurs when there is an injury or damage to the developing brain. It presents as a disorder of movement or posture.
Dr. Chawanzi said, one of the commonest causes of cerebral palsy in Zambia is birth asphyxia.
This is a condition in which a baby does not cry at birth, causing deprivation of oxygen to the brain. The first cry is also the baby’s first breath which supplies oxygen to all the organs, including the brain.
Other brain insults that could lead to cerebral palsy include meningitis, neonatal jaundice, and intracranial (brain) haemorrhage.
In a few cases, cerebral palsy can occur from congenital abnormalities in brain structure.
These children will usually be noticed because of delays in achieving milestones such as achieving head support, sitting, or talking. In some cases, these children may have difficulties gaining weight and will have very stiff joints. Many patients with cerebral palsy go on to develop epilepsy which requires treatment.
“Children with cerebral palsy will not be affected to the same degree. It could be mild, moderate, or severe and this will determine the level of care they need. Physiotherapy improves the mobility of their joints and they are provided with frames that help them learn how to sit or stand. They could also have learning difficulties which require them to attend a special school, “ Dr. Chawanzi said.
Dr. Chawanzi said there were a lot of children being followed up at the University Teaching Hospital with cerebral palsy and its related ailments, adding that an intervention needed to be mounted to reduce the number of cases.
She urged expecting mothers to start antenatal visits early to ensure optimum monitoring of the development of their unborn babies. Expectant mothers who feel unwell must visit their nearest health facility to obtain treatment because these infections could spread to the fetus, thus, affecting development and increasing the chance of developing cerebral palsy.
She further stressed the importance of women delivering their babies from health facilities to reduce the rate of birth asphyxia.
Babies that have difficulties breathing after delivery need immediate resuscitation to help them with breathing and this can only be done by trained health workers. Early resuscitation greatly improves the survival of these babies.
Dr. Chawanzi said expecting mothers and their partners needed to be tested for syphilis, HIV/AIDS, and hepatitis to protect their unborn babies from these diseases which could affect their babies if untreated.
She said when asked about hydrocephalus she said this condition was different as it is caused by the accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid in the brain due to obstruction of the normal path the fluid takes, which causes a constant enlargement of the size of the child’s head.
“Unlike Cerebral Palsy, if hydrocephalus is diagnosed early, a tube called a shunt can be inserted to drain the excess fluid and this will stop the head from enlarging further,” she said.
It must be also indicated that in 2010, according to the CDC , about 58.9 per cent of children with Cerebral Palsy could walk independently, 7.8 per cent walked using a hand-held mobility device, and 33.3 per cent had limited or no walking ability.
Another study found that 41 per cent of children with Cerebral Palsy were limited in their ability to crawl, walk, run, or play, and 31 per cent needed to use special equipment such as walkers or wheelchairs.
There is a need for the Department of Social Welfare in Kabwe to take a leaf and help the children living with cerebral palsy in the district, especially that they had applied for assistance which they were not considered.