Nana Abena Akuamoa Boateng, a nutritionist, has appealed to parents to show more responsibility to children with special challenges to enable them to develop self-confidence and lead normal lives.
She said the stigmatization suffered by children with heart defects, �Down Syndrome,� HIV/AIDS, cancers and other ailments must end.
She was speaking at a public education forum, organized by the Paediatric Society of Ghana, at the Centre for National Culture, in Kumasi, to draw attention to issues of child neglect and abuse.
�Men on board for healthier children,� was theme.
Attending were health professionals, social workers, parents and other stakeholders
Nana Boateng counselled parents to seek professional care for babies with congenital abnormalities and stop attributing such cases to superstition.
She condemned the situation, where some fathers refused to look after these children, leaving the burden on the shoulders of the woman, who many a time, is forced to either dump the unfortunate children or send them to prayer and healing camps.
Mr Vincent Acquaah, a lecturer at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, (KNUST) called on fathers to spend quality time with their children, especially during their adolescence.
This, he said, was necessary to protect them from peer pressure.
Dr Theresa Rettig, President of the Society, appealed to fathers to give the necessary support to their wives when pregnant.
Dr Kathryn Spangenberg, a Specialist Family Physician of Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, said parents should set good examples for their children.