By Richard P. Ngbokai
No fewer than 4670 cases of spinal cord injuries have been recorded at the National Orthopedic Hospital Dala, Kano state between December, 2018 and 2019.
The Vice Chairman, Spinal Cord Injuries Association of Nigeria (SCIAN), Kano state chapter, Alhaji Abdulrahman Uba Daushe revealed this in an interview in Kano during the 2019 World Spinal Cord Injury Day commemoration at Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital.
He said the prevalence rate more than tripled this year compared to what was obtained last year. He emphasized the need for the establishment of rehabilitation centre by the government to cater for those living with the condition across the state and beyond.
“Before you are confined to wheelchair you have a private life, you are able to do everything by yourself, but now you have to depend on other people even for your sanitary actions. It is quite challenging living with spinal cord injury and to help ameliorate our challenges, we are calling on the government to establish a rehabilitation centre for the spinal cord injury patients in at least one of the northern states, this is where persons on wheelchair will be trained on how to move from wheelchair to ordinary seats, this is where you will be trained to be relatively independent” he said.
The secretary to Kano state government, Alhaji Usman Alhaji, who was the guest of honour at the event, pledged the support of the state government to persons with special needs across the state. He revealed that the government had already gotten international donors to give succor to the persons with disabilities in the state.
He said “The government will ensure that people with disabilities live to their potentialities. The government has already gotten a fund that is dedicated to persons with disabilities. We have got international donors, UNICEF and World Bank, and pledged to assist people with disability in Kano state.” (daily trust)