Erimias Biniam Firre*

Department of Sociology and Social Work, College of Business and Social Sciences, Eritrea

*Corresponding Author: Erimias Biniam Firre, Department of Sociology and Social Work, College of Business and Social Sciences, Eritrea.

Received: November 29, 2022; Published: February 20, 2023

Abstract

Cerebral palsy (CP) is the most common motor disability worldwide with an incidence of 1.6/1,000 Live Birth (LB) for high income and 3.0033/1000 Live Births (LB) for low and middle income countries(4). Over the past 10 years, there has been rising trends in the number of children with cerebral palsy (CP) in Eritrea; the reasons of which are not clear to date. With the Eritrean family system being restrictive, derogatory and stigmatizing, experiences of guilt and shame from a having a child with cerebral palsy is unlikely to be shared. Families therefore, singlehandedly and covertly bear the pains of trauma and ridicules emanating from within and outside of the domestic sphere. Of note, the fear of having another child with similar problem may lead couples to separation, divorce or abstinence from further sexual contact. From the vantage point, the case report discussed hereunder presents experiences of a Coptic family from Eritrea who had a first born child with spastic cerebral palsy of quadriplegic type - Stage 4. The relevance of this case report lies in the absence of experience sharing within the cultural milieu of Coptic Tigrinya ethnics of Eritrea and the lack of therapeutic centers in the nascent nation to helping children with CP and their families to have restored hope and meaningful lives within the mainstream society.

Keywords:Cerebral Palsy; Coptic Tigrinya; Eritrea; Therapeutic Centers

References

1. Amahazion Fikrejesus. "Mental Health in Eritrea: A Brief Overview and Possible Steps Forward”. Journal of Global Health 11 (2021).
2. Dako-Gyeke Mavis., et al. "Known by the Children’s Condition: Associative Stigma among Family Carers of Children with Cerebral Palsy”. Global Social Welfare4 (2021): 379-392.
3. National Association of Intellectual and Developmental Disability of Eritrea. "Parenting Enrichment Manual ". Asmara Francheskana Printing Press (2017).
4. McIntyre Sarah., et al. "Global Prevalence of Cerebral Palsy: A Systematic Analysis". Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology (2022).

Citation

Citation: Erimias Biniam Firre. “Myths and Misconceptions about Cerebral Palsy: Testimonies of a Coptic Priest from Eritrea". Acta Scientific Neurology 6.3 (2023): 26-28.

Copyright

Copyright: © 2023 Erimias Biniam Firre. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.