Ghana will join the world to observe World Cerebral Palsy (CP) Day on Thursday, October 6, 2022.

World CP Day is used to celebrate and support those living with cerebral palsy, embrace diversity and help create a more accessible future for everyone.

“There are over 1 billion people around the world who live with a disability. Yet we still navigate a world that is not designed to be accessible,” the World CP Day Organisation says.

Cerebral palsy is a neurological condition that affects the movement and sometimes the speech of a person. It is considered the number one cause of disability in childhood.

There are more than 17 million people across the world living with cerebral palsy. Another 350 million people are closely connected to a child or adult with cerebral palsy.

It is the most common physical disability in childhood. Cerebral palsy is a permanent disability that affects movement. Its impact can range from a weakness in one hand to almost a complete lack of voluntary movement.

It is a complex disability. 1 in 4 children with cerebral palsy cannot talk, 1 in 4 cannot walk, 1 in 2 have an intellectual disability and 1 in 4 have epilepsy.

Cerebral palsy is a lifelong disability and there is no known cure.

Cerebral palsy is one of the least understood disabilities and people with cerebral palsy are often out of sight, out of mind and out of options in communities around the world. 

In Ghana, members of the Special Mothers Project, an advocacy and awareness creation programme on cerebral palsy issues will take to social media to educate the public about cerebral palsy and the need for government to formulate policies that support children with the condition and their families.

The Centre for Learning and Childhood Disabilities (CLCD) will also organise a free health screening exercise for children with cerebral palsy on October 8, 2022, to mark the day.

Cerebral Palsy Awareness, another organization championing CP issues will celebrate the day with families at the Shai-Osudoku Health Directorate.

World Cerebral Palsy Day on October 6 was created by the Cerebral Palsy Alliance in 2012 and now brings together people living with cerebral palsy, their families, allies, supporters and organisations across more than 100 countries.

The aim is to ensure a future in which children and adults with cerebral palsy to have the same rights, access and opportunities as anyone else in our society.

The theme for the celebration is; 'Millions of Reasons'.