On World Cerebral Palsy Day, I stood with a global movement for and by the 50 million people living with cerebral palsy, their families and supporters, celebrating what makes each person unique while uniting for inclusion, access and dignity.

The Wellbeing Foundation Africa joined the Kwara State Ministry of Social Development and the Ifeoluwa CP Initiative for an awareness walk and technical engagement on this World Cerebral Palsy Day, which is under the theme, Unique and United, where our Chief Programmes Manager presented WBFA’s capacity-building approach to reducing cerebral palsy linked to severe neonatal jaundice through better screening, timely treatment and family education. The voices heard throughout were powerful, from a mother’s testimony of preventable harm to a clinician’s lived experience, and they strengthened the call for WBFA to extend our Project Oscar — Light for Life, a Neonatal Jaundice Screening, Treatment, and Kernicterus Prevention Programme, to Kwara State.

Preventable perinatal risks still drive too many cases of cerebral palsy in low- and middle-income settings, including Nigeria, where severe neonatal hyperbilirubinaemia and kernicterus remain significant yet avoidable contributors. Early detection and effective phototherapy save lives and protect neurodevelopment, and WBFA will continue on our mission to equip facilities with bilirubinometers and phototherapy units, train frontline health workers, and empower mothers to recognise danger signs, through the support of our social impact partners Reckitt.

At the Wellbeing Foundation Africa, we remain steadfast in our commitment to ensure that no child’s potential is diminished by conditions that knowledge and compassion can prevent. We are unique in our stories, and united in our resolve.