Down Syndrome cases in KSA reach 20,000

HEALTH FOCUS: Most young Down Syndrome patients in the Kingdom suffer from ignorance and negligence and need better health care services.

DAMMAM: The number of children below 17 years of age with Down Syndrome in Saudi Arabia stands at 20,000, according to specialists.
Khaled Al-Dajam, head of the Department of General Pediatrics at King Fahd Medical City (KFMC), said that most young Down Syndrome patients in the Kingdom suffer from ignorance and negligence and need better health care services.
Al-Dajam explained that those with the condition have a number of basic requirements in terms of helping them integrate into society. This includes the refinement of their skills and capacities from birth, the provision of health care through education and training in private or regular schools as per the needs of each case, rehabilitation, exercise and physical therapy, in addition to the provision of suitable jobs for them as they grow older.
Dhaidan Al-Misfer, a father of a child with Down Syndrome, said: “There are many misconceptions in the community about Down Syndrome patients which are not based on any scientific proof, such as calling them ‘Mongolians’, believing that they have short life and that they are unable to learn or have an independent life.”
According to the secretary general and head of the Executive Bureau of the Gulf Disability Society, Musaad Al-Awlah, “Down Syndrome patients suffer from several challenges within the community, including lack of accurate diagnosis of their condition, poor health services, lack of specialized centers in some provinces, along with education and integration problems, and the lack of rehabilitation through specialized sports and vocational training programs.”
In addition, Hassan Al-Zahrani, a lecturer in the Systems Department at the University of Najran, said that people with Down Syndrome have important human rights as stipulated in the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, including the right to education through the provision of specialized educational institutions, the right to work if it is proved that they have the professional capabilities enabling them to integrate in various disciplines, as well as their right to receive suitable health care. It is believed that through investment in national healthcare and other integration services in the Kingdom, patients of Down Syndrome will be more likely to obtain these important rights.