MRTB, others canvass establishment of National Rehabilitation Centres
Towards alleviating the plight of large number of Nigerians living with one form of disability or the other, experts have stressed the need for the federal government to establish a one-stop-shop National Rehabilitation Centre in each of the six geo-political zones of the country, as a matter of urgency.
Having such centres in place, the experts say, would help people living with disabilites access adequate specialist care from professionals in the field of rehabilitation.
Besides helping people with disabilities to lead a normal and productive life, the experts also believe that the centres would accelerate the development of rehabilitation medicine in Nigeria which is currently lacking.
The Registrar/CEO, Medical Rehabilitation Therapists Registration Board (MRTB) of Nigeria, Mrs. Olufunke Akanle, said the establishment of rehabilitation centres in Nigeria is long overdue – especially at the community level, giving the large number of Nigerians living with disabilities.
According to figures released during the 2016 International Day of Persons Living with Disabilities (IDPLWDs), 19 million Nigerians live with at least one form of disability or the other.
It would be recalled that MRTB of Nigeria was established in 2004 to regulate and control the training and practice of seven progressions in the health sector namely; Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy, Speech Therapy, Chiropractic and Osteopathic Medicine, Audiology, Prosthetics and Orthotics.
As a way forward, Akanle said her Board is organising its first international conference in alignment with the World Health Organisation (WHO) action plan for 2014-2021.
Speaking in Lagos recently on the forthcoming event holding on the 20th to 22nd of September, 2017 at the Lagos Airport Hotel, Ikeja, Akanle, said according to WHO Global Disability Action Plan 2014-2021, disability is a global public health and human right issue.
“This is so because throughout their life course, they encounter wide spread barriers in accessing health and related services and have worse health outcomes than people without disability.
“The MRTB as an organisation with vested interest in solving rehabilitation challenges, passionately takes these facts as submitted by WHO as disturbing and seeks to provide the solutions by formulating remedial actions to make the care of patients living with disability better in Nigeria”, she explained.
She argued that disability should not deny anyone access to good things of life, hence, the need for inclusion of policies that would cater for their needs and make rehabilitation services readily available and affordable to them.
According to her, the conference seeks to achieve the following objectives; to strategically plan towards the implementation of WHO 2014-2021 Action plan for disability in Sub-Saharan Africa and to develop policies and regulations to drive disability and rehabilitation services in Nigeria and Sub-Saharan Africa.
The conference, she added, also seeks to establish a multi-disciplinary relationship with all the medical rehabilitation professionals in Nigeria, Africa and across the globe.
In his remarks, Chairman, Communication Committee of the conference and Senior Lecturer, Department of Physiotherapy, College of Medicine, University of Lagos, Dr. Udoka Okafor, called for investment in rehabilitation care and equipment used in the management of people living with disabilities in the country.
To Dr. Banabas Vangerwua, a Consultant Audiologist, government should champion the establishment of rehabilitation centres in the six geo-political zones for early detection of hearing, speech and visual problems in order to bring about better outcomes.
Angela Onwuzoo
