A child with Down Syndrome

According to Daily Trust, an unidentified woman, on Friday last week abandoned her toddler who has Down syndrome near the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) headquarters at the Lagos State Secretariat, Alausa, Ikeja.

The boy who was left in a cardboard box was found by sympathisers who gathered to have a glimpse of the toddler.

Many were left wondering how his mother could have abandoned him in such a public place in broad daylight.

Down syndrome is a condition in which extra genetic material causes delays in the way a child develops, both physically and mentally.

Characteristics of a child with Down Syndrome

Many Nigerian parents find it very hard to cope with having a child with a disability and we are certain this mother could not bear the responsibility of having to cope as well.

(RELATED: What Nigerian parents need to know about Down Syndrome)

According to the Daily Trust, women who were at the scene of the incident immediately looked for clothes and wrapped the baby before informing the Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation (WAPA), the ministry saddled with taking care of such cases. They also rained abuses on the perpetrator of such dastardly act.

Director of Child Development in the Ministry of Women Affairs, Mrs Alaba Fadairo, who received the baby, said he appeared to be afflicted with the Down syndrome, but promised that he would be adequately catered for by the state government at the Special Home Centre in Ketu.

She  also condemned the action of the boy’s mother, saying she should have approached the special home where such babies are cared for.

“Every child needs a home. Every child wants a mother and father in his or her life. But I can assure you that the child will be taken to a convenient and comfortable home where he will be treated well. There are well trained professionals that will take him up and work on him. Here in Lagos, there is a specially built home for this kind of case,” the WAPA director said.

Fadiaro has also adviced mothers with children suffering from the down syndrome to approach the state government or visit its facilities rather than throwing them away.