- INTRODUCTION
Citizens’ engagement and participation in the advocacy for developmental issues are the hallmarks of democracy. The Fourth Republican Constitution and the Local Governance Act of 2016, Act 936(46) identify advocacy on core development issues such as Health, Education, Security, Agriculture, etc. as a way of fostering democracy and promotion of public participation in planning, budgeting, and public expenditure and sustainable development.
It is in line with this, that the Effutu Municipal Assembly engaged duty bearers’ within the municipality to educate the communities and participants on neurodevelopmental disabilities. It is also a means of educating members on how to deal with lives of people with such disabilities in their various homes and communities.
Participants were drawn from five communities made of; Pumping Station, Ekroful, Ateitu, Tuansa.
- PURPOSE OF THE MEETING
The MCE Honourable Alhaji Zubairu Kassim announced the purpose of the meeting as launching the first edition of “Building A Network of African Master’s Training in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities.”
- PARTICIPANTS
The meeting brought together one hundred and fifty (150) participants from various communities in the Effutu Municipality. The Municipal Chief Executive, Honourable Alhaji Zubairu Kassim, Municipal Health Director Mrs. Mariatu Seidu, Trauma and Specialist Hospital Medical Director, Dr. George Kwame Prah, Traditional Leaders, some members from Effutu Municipal Assembly and community Members were present at the meeting.
- PRESENTATION
The presentation was in two sections;
1. The main presentation
2. Question and answers segment
- PRESENTATION BY THE MUNICIPAL HEALTH DIRECTOR
The Municipal Director of Health Services, Madam Mariatu Seidu noted that children with convulsive disorder made up 3% of new patients seen in the Paediatric Departments in Health facilities across the country.
According to her Generalized tonic-clonic seizures were the commonest type of seizure (76.5%), followed by complex seizures (14.8%) and temporal lobe seizures (3.4%). She said that majority of patients had no definable cause and normal neurological examination with 47.7% of electroencephalographs having diagnostic abnormalities. Madam Mariatu Seidu continued that most patients responded well to conventional antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) leading to a discontinuation of drug therapy in 48 (7.1%) patients who remained seizure-free for two or more years. Adverse drug reactions and laboratory test abnormalities were rather uncommon. Discontinuation of antiepileptic therapy after effective long-term control is discussed.
- PRESENTATION BY MCE
The MCE Honourable Alhaji Zubairu Kassim at the launch of the building a network of African Masters Trainers in the Neurodevelopment Disabilities stated the need for such programmes as well as the benefits the municipality stands to gain.
He admonished residents of Effutu to eschew all forms of discrimination against persons with disability. He further pledged the continuous support of the Assembly for the organization and emphasized his commitment at ensuring that the Effutu Municipal Assembly acquired a training centre for people with disability.
- QUESTIONs AND ANSWERS FORUM
Question: what are the causes of Neurodevelopmental disorder
Answer: The Medical Director of the Trauma and Specialist Hospital, Dr. Prah explained that one of the likely causes of such disorders could be through heredity. He further explained that such disorders can also occur during pregnancy and excessive smoking, alcoholism, premature birth etc.
Question: Mr. Ato Kwamina asked if such disorders can have implications on a person’s way of thinking or learning?
Answer: Dr. Prah answered in the affirmitive with an explanation that it is connected to the brain and can most likely cause the disorder.
Question: What are some of the symptoms of neurodevelopmental disorder?
Answer: Dr. Prah noted that the symptoms of such disorders most often begin to show at the early stages of a child’s life adding that the symptoms vary depending on the specific disorder citing Autism as an example of such disorders.
- SUGGESTIONS
Most of the participants were of the view that more of such informative engagements should be organized periodically to create awareness to reduce stigmatization.
Others appealed for a trusted source of budgetary allocation for persons living with such disabilities/ disorders for disbursement on frequent basis.
- CONCLUSION
The meeting was very successful with participants making contributions to the issues raised and participating fully.
RECORDED BY:
CHARLES BAAH ABOAGYE
EFFUTU MUNICIPAL INFORMATION OFFICER
Last modified: July 27, 2022
