According to a study conducted by Disability Rights International (DRI) and Kenyan Association for the Intellectually Handicapped (KAIH), 93 per cent of the mothers interviewed found out about their child’s disability on their own.
They complained that they were sent home after delivering without any information or care plans for the baby’s special needs.
It is when the parents didn't see milestones in the growth of their child, that they started to worry and sought medical advice.
This was attributed to the stigma and enormous pressure mothers with disabled children face.
More than two-thirds of them responded that their children were often seen as a curse. They faced accusations of sinning and bringing the curse upon them.
The report also revealed that nearly half of the mothers surveyed were forced to kill children born with special needs.
Of the total population used in the study, 37 per cent revealed that they were pressured into killing their disabled children.
Many of the killings were committed in secret and went unreported.
A report by a local publisher said that some parents hid their disabled children from the public as they feared stigmatisation.
A joint report by the Kenya Institute of Special Education and the Ministry of Education conducted between 2016 and 2017 showed that Kenya was still ill-equipped to support disabled learners.
