World Cerebral Palsy Day 2020: Know More About the Condition Affecting 17mn People Worldwide

The condition where people lose the ability to control their muscles, body posture and movement is called Cerebral Palsy (CP). In Cerebral Palsy, a part of the brain, which controls motor movement, gets damaged. It is a permanent disability and there is no known cure to the condition.

Every year, October 6 is marked as the World Cerebral Palsy Day. It is observed in order to highlight the achievements and life of people living with CP. This time around, due to the Covid-19 crisis, the day will be observed online by sharing snippets from the life of children with CP.

Here are some of the facts about this condition that you need to know:

1. Around 17 million people in the world have this condition. There are around 350 million family members who are closely related or caregivers of people with cerebral palsy.

2. Most people are born with the condition but it can also happen later due to infections such as meningitis, encephalitis or due to any other reason, which can cause damage to the brain during the early months or years of life.

3. It is the most common motor disability that can happen in children. The term comes from Cerebral, which means related to brain and Palsy, meaning weakness.

4. It becomes difficult for the children to walk, sit, stand and do other day to day actions. Children with this condition can also experience seizure and change in their behaviour. The sleeping pattern of such children might also get affected.

5. As per the data, one in two children with Cerebral Palsy suffer from an intellectual disability while one child in four cannot walk.

To overcome the difficulties that come with CP, many children need to learn functional skills. They need long-term rehabilitation so as to prevent secondary disabilities and to enable them to participate in daily activities. Such interventions can improve the quality of life of children living with CP.

But providing long-term rehabilitation to people with CP is not an easy task as the total cost requirement for the same is high.

World Cerebral Palsy Day 2020 aims to increase awareness about the condition and ensure that children with the condition can attain the same rights as others.