Mum of 3 kids with rare health condition seeks end to stigmatisation

Mrs Olufunmilayo Israel, a single mother of three, has sought the support of Nigerians to stop stigmatising children with rare medical conditions.

In an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ibadan on Monday, Mrs Israel, a vegetable seller and graduate of the University of Ibadan (UI), specifically sought an end to stigmatisation for her three children.

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She said, “Taking care of the three children, diagnosed with achondroplasia and four other normal children have been extremely difficult, especially since my husband left us.

“I am seeking social support for my children from well-meaning Nigerians and NGOs, because I want to take them back to hospital.

“We were told by medical experts at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, that the children’s condition is genetic.

“We did not know initially as the first child did not show any sign until she was a year old and contracted tuberculosis at a creche.

“In the process of accessing care at UCH her genetic condition was discovered, her hands are not straight and she has bow legs.

“After her, I gave birth to two other children with the same genetic disorder.”

According to her, this condition led to the separation with her husband, having spent lots of money and incurring huge debts.

She said that the children, aged four, six and 12, were highly intelligent, but that the challenge in their physical growth had been a problem.

She further said that the stigmatisation as a result of the medical condition had led to suicidal thoughts by the eldest of the three children.

NAN reports that medical experts at UCH revealed that achondroplasia is the most common type of short-limbed dwarfism, a very rare condition with fewer than 10,000 cases per year in Nigeria.

The experts said that while the condition could sometimes be hereditary, most cases of dwarfism were caused by a genetic mutation.

Prof Adebola Orimadegun of the Institute of Child Health, College of Medicine, and Principal Investigator of “Study on Stunting Reduction in Nigerian Children”, however, said Mrs Israel and the children could not be classified as stunted but short-statued. (NAN)