Imagine
for a minute giving your son or daughter their breakfast only to watch them suffer
a seizure as they attempt to eat. Imagine having to tie your own children up
during the day in order to keep them from wandering off and getting lost
because they are not aware of what they are doing. Imagine reaching a point
where you can only describe your child’s situation as hopeless, as doctors tell
you they have no answers. This is what many parents in Uganda face daily as the
nation deals with an outbreak of Nodding Disease.
Nodding
Disease is seen in children, starting with epileptic type symptoms. The
seizures are triggered by food, heat, and cold weather. As the disease
progresses growth and development are stunted. Behavior changes and children
are often left in need of around the clock care. A number of children with the
disease die either because they deteriorate from a lack of nutrition or because
of accidents suffered during the seizures.
In
some villages the disease has spread like a plague. According to the BBC more
than 3,000 cases have been reported in northern Uganda.
For
today’s international prayer let us stand in prayer for the children of Uganda
and for children in other areas where there have been outbreaks of Nodding
Disease. Pray for members of the World Health Organization and of the United
States Center for Disease Control who are working to find the cause of the
disease. Pray they find a cure. At a time when parents are losing hope let us
call upon the One who gives hope to the hopeless, asking God to intervene
according to His will.
For
more on the Nodding Disease outbreak see:
On
BBC.co.uk – Uganda’s Nodding Disease: “I’ve Lost Hope”
On
CNN.com – Mysterious Noding Disease Debilitates Children
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