Cerebral Palsy is a condition that affects children at birth. It is the most common disability found in children with up to two infants per thousand suffering from the affliction. Developed nations have created great support systems and treatment centers and as a result they have been able to help children with CP lead happy, productive lives. In many underdeveloped countries, however, this is not the case. Funding for the study and treatment of this neurological disorder is not always readily available and as a result children suffer.
In the developing nations of Africa, the challenge of treating children with CP is great. A recent study conducted by the Global Health Center of The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) found that in Botswana children with CP were met with less positive outcomes than children in more developed nations. Better prevention and treatment programs are necessary to reverse this trend. As a result of the study CHOP has determined that a lack of financial resources presents the biggest challenge to doctors in these nations. To combat this problem CHOP has formed a partnership with the government of Botswana to provide better funding for the care and treatment for these children.
The Faculty of Medicine of the University of Botswana is also working hard to reverse this trend and prevent the major causes of CP in children. Children in these countries who are born prematurely or that have received low oxygen during birth are at a greater risk of developing CP, but education can help lower these rates and bring them more in line with those found in the US and Europe. Through prevention and proper treatment children with CP in these developing nations can have the same success rates as children in other more developed parts of the world.
