Experts in child development and healthcare professionals have urged for a collaborative effort to improve assistance for children with special needs.

These experts highlighted the necessity for a unified strategy to address the escalating concerns surrounding deficiencies in existing support systems and the demand for holistic solutions.

The specialists, who served as speakers at the YBC reunion event organized by the 2002 graduates of the University of Lagos College of Medicine, decried the prejudices faced by children with special needs.

Throughout the week-long event, the alumni revealed renovations to the kitchen and ceiling, which were donated to the Children’s Development Centre in Surulere, Lagos.

Additionally, the alumni conducted a complimentary medical outreach program for residents of Idi-Araba, along with mentorship and coaching sessions for medical students at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital.

In individual interviews with our reporter on the sidelines, the experts advocated for targeted interventions to ensure fair support for all children, regardless of their health challenges.

Ebele Oputa, the Chief Operating Officer of the Children’s Developmental Centre, stressed the importance of ongoing public education and engagement to promote inclusivity.

She expressed concern over the shortage of specialized facilities outside Lagos for children facing developmental obstacles and emphasized the urgent requirement for broader support and awareness.

Oputa detailed the center’s advocacy efforts, which included extensive awareness campaigns across 22 states to foster understanding and acceptance of children with disabilities.

While acknowledging the significance of the alumni’s initiative, the operating officer described it as a remarkable and uncommon gesture.

“When you see people who remember children and young adults with developmental disabilities, it’s incredibly welcoming. This is part of the advocacy we desperately need,” she remarked.

On his part, the chairman of the 2002 alumni association, Dr Olasode Akinmokun, harped on the moral duty to assist those in need, particularly children with special needs, who are often marginalised.

He stated, “I am passionate about people with special needs. And we know that a lot of us in this country still don’t want to accept them, but they are part of us and we will continue to accept them for who they are in our society.

“I would advise everyone, there is no need to discriminate against anyone. There are people with special needs and there are things that they can do to help the community, society and even Nigeria at large.

“So, we will say everyone should accept them for who they are and then continue to allow them to get integrated into society and live their life in full. This is because we still need some of the skills and knowledge that they have to also help build this country up.”

Dr. Akinmokun, a consultant orthopedic surgeon at LUTH, stated that the alumni association’s medical outreach and donation to the children’s center were acts of giving back to the community that had supported them.

He emphasized that their efforts aimed to bring about long-term positive changes in society, beyond just providing immediate medical care.

Similarly, Dr. Ololade, a consultant oncologist and chairman of the local planning committee, urged Nigerians to work towards greater inclusion of children with special needs.

He stressed the importance of ongoing awareness and acceptance for children with developmental challenges, highlighting the event’s goal of supporting vulnerable groups and giving back to the community.

Ololade noted, “One of the things we’ve realized as medical doctors and dental surgeons are that no matter how great an individual is, giving back to society is greater than that. So, we found out that as part of our reunion activities, apart from the festivities of the dinner, of the celebration, dancing and making merry, we should find a way to give back to the society. So in giving back to society, we looked at two or three places where we give back, and one is to the future of medicine.

“We started with ensuring that we have a mentorship programme for medical students that are currently in the school. That was done on Wednesday. Then after that, we looked at one of the areas that have been involved in our growth, which is the children’s development centre in Surulere.

“One of the things is that we have to continue to identify with them. We have to continue to raise awareness because, you know, it is not far-fetched, the fact that we’re still struggling with a lot of stigma when it comes to children with special needs; children that are autistic, or that are finding it difficult either to move and all that, or they have any growth, deformity or the other.

“So to prevent that and to ensure that they are easily integrated into the society, we must continue to do a lot of awareness.

“We must continue to make sure that they identify with them through ventures like carrying out projects with them, interacting and visiting them in their various centres. In that way, we can raise awareness and help to reduce as much as possible, the discrimination that they are suffering as children with special needs.”