Screen pregnant mothers for disability-causing diseases —Fedoma
The Federation of Disability Organisations in Malawi (Fedoma) has called for mandatory screening of pregnant mothers to detect disability and impairment-causing diseases in unborn babies.
Speaking at the events marking this year’s International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDD) in Blantyre on Saturday, chairperson of Fedoma board of trustees Simon Munde said the screening will enable medical personnel to provide appropriate care to unborn babies on time.
“If a disability is detected in time, it can be reversed. Nobody wishes to have a disabled child who would grow in an environment with a myriad of impingements on their rights and freedoms as is the case now,” he said.
Munde also called for the establishment of disabled children registries at a district level to properly record the number of disabled children in the country.
Minister Responsible for Persons with Disabilities Rachel Kachaje called on the local government structures in the country to involve disabled people in their programmes.
Said Kachaje:“All sector plans and programmes must be inclusive. This also includes the education sector approaches.”
The theme for this year’s IDD was ‘Break Barriers, Open Doors for an Inclusive Society for All.”
The day was set aside to provide a unified voice for all persons with disabilities to enhance their welfare and enable them to play a role in society.
