The University of Gondar’s Community Based Rehabilitation Program, in collaboration with Cerebral Palsy Africa (CPA), has provided a one day training on cerebral palsy early identification and prevention strategies for selected health care providers and health extension workers in Gondar city. The training had three sessions. The first session covered the manifestations, prevalence, and prevention and treatment of Cerebral Palsy (CP). The second session was oriented in the importance of early identification of CP to mitigate the consequences of the health condition. Finally, a brief introduction to the International Classification of Disability (ICF) was discussed to provide the biopsychosocial perspective of understanding disability.
The organizer of this training and coordinator of the CPA project Mr. Zelalem Dessalegn stressed the importance of the training mentioning two critical benefits. He stressed that training health professionals about CP enables them to identify CP in their clinical setting and provide appropriate referral when it arises. In addition, the head of the Occupational Therapy department emphasized the significance of early identification of CP and the value of teaching the early signs of CP and what to look for by the health professionals. By understanding the early signs of the illness and referring the children to rehabilitation in a timely manner, the clinicians will significantly help the quality of life of the child and the family.
Cerebral Palsy Africa is striving to improve the lives’ of children with CP and their families by providing technical and financial support to projects that operate in Africa. This training is part of a project supported by CPA focusing on improving the quality of life of children with CP and their families in Gondar.
