Hope for Village Child Foundation (HVCF), said it has treated no fewer than 200 rickets-afflicted children via surgical interventions.
It said that the figure was out of the over 4,000 children who were suffering from rickets disease since the inception of its project in 2005.
Similarly, over 600 pregnant/lactating mothers had received their free calcium supplements for the prevention of rickets.
The foundation’s Rickets Project Coordinator, Juliana Ekwoanya, said this on Thursday at the inauguration of the HVCF rickets project stakeholders in Kaduna.
Ekwoanya explained that rickets, as seen in Kaduna state, was normally caused by the lack of calcium to harden the bones.
In other climes, she said, it was caused by the lack of vitamin ‘D’ which does not activate calcium to enter the bone.
Ekwoanya, however, said in Kaduna,
children absorb vitamin ‘D’ from sunshine and
in most cases do not lack the vitamin.
“In spite of research, it is not certain why in the affected children, the calcium to strengthen bones is lacking in some children while others in the same families do not have this condition,” she wondered.
Ekwoanya, who doubles as the foundation’s Head of Health Section, said in order to address the problem, they were supported by the Catholic German Agency MISEREOR to assist affected children by providing them with calcium supplements.
In most cases, she said, the interventions brought
about correction of the deformity, while in other cases, it did not happen and children needed surgery.
According to her, a child with rickets ordinarily takes calcium for three years, estimating that a month’s supply for one child equals N11,530.
This, she said, meant that a child would need N415,080 to effectively take calcium supplements for a period of three years.
Ekwoanya lamented that when the deformity becomes severe and a child is taken for surgery, it costs between N830,000 to N1,300,000 on one leg depending on the severity.
“Sometimes this deformity affects both legs of a child, thereby doubling the cost.
”When a child is taken for surgery, other expenses are involved, and
help is needed for such expenses such as toiletries during the
surgery period, which cost N7,000.
“Food support is also required for two
months, which amounts to N60,000. Physical therapy costs N82,000,” Ekwoanya said.
Speaking further, the coordinator stated that the foundation
promotes more nutritious calcium-rich diets and conducts training in attractive use of such foods.
She added that pregnant
women and lactating mothers from areas where rickets was
prevalent were given calcium supplements in an effort to arrest
its spread to newborns.
Also, the foundation’s Head of Sustainable Livelihood Department, Mr Sadiq Bako, said the need for the project was crucial in addressing its prevalence among children in the state.
“Effective stakeholders’ engagement is essential to ensure the sustainability and scalability of the rickets project,”he said .
Bako added that stakeholders, including healthcare professionals, community leaders and donors, could provide valuable insights, funding, and resources to support the project’s goals when it winds up.
He urged them to work diligently for the cause of a rickets-free Kaduna state.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that the high point of the meeting was the inauguration of eight-member executives, who were the rickets project stakeholders.
NAN reports that the selected patrons for the rickets project stakeholders were: Mr Titus Dauda, the Agom Kufana and the Emir of Kajuru, Alhassan Adamu.
Other members included religious organisations, youth and women groups and opinion leaders, among others.(NAN
