Keeping to its commitment to promote an inclusive and vibrant society in which everyone can thrive, the Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO) has in the past 15 years championed advocacy, awareness, and education for a widely misunderstood and often mystified spectrum of condition, autism.
In this 15th year and moving forward, GTCO is set to move its prolonged awareness of the disease condition in the society to action. This was highlighted in the press briefing towards the upcoming, anticipated Pan-African GTCO Autism conference set to hold this July 2025 in Nigeria and Ghana.
Speaking at the press briefing, the Group CEO, GTCO PLC, Mr. Segun Agbaje indicated: ‘The Orange Ribbon Initiative began in 2009 as our commitment to advocate for children with neurodevelopmental disorders and to support the families and caregivers who nurture them.’
‘What started as a simple but focused effort has grown to shape how we advocate, how we listen, and how we respond. This is the foundation upon which the Autism program is built on; one that champions acceptance, encourages early intervention, and advocates for a future where every child is given the opportunity to thrive.’
‘Now in its fifteenth year, the GTCO Autism Programme remains committed to advocacy, support and empowerment of children and adults living with Autism Spectrum Disorder. We have been building a space for dialogue, learning, and transformation, not just for the autism community, but for all of us working towards a more compassionate society’, Agbaje said.
Giving full details of the 15th edition of the GTCO Autism Conference tagged: “From Awareness To Action: 15 Years of Advancing Autism Inclusion.”, Head of Corporate Communications, GTCO, Oyinade Adegbite shared: ’15 years of the autism conference and I know that it’s an initiative we will continue to support because that’s very close to our heart as an organization. What can be more important than giving a voice to people who don’t have a voice.’
‘For this year, we will have the program at the Muson Center for Two days, 15th and 16th of July, 2025 where we will have facilitators and consultants to share insights and knowledge about autism as a whole. Then, we will have One on One Consultations from Thursday to Saturday, 17th to 19th July, 2025 at Adeyemi Bero Auditorium, Alausa Secretariat, Ikeja, Lagos.’
‘We’ll be moving to Ghana from July 21st – 24th, 2025 at the University of Professional Studies, Accra, Ghana. We’ll have a one-day workshop in Ghana on the 21st, and then three days of clinics as well in Ghana. We hope to carry across this initiative and make it Pan-African’, Adegbite noted.
A speech and language pathologist, Dr. Grace Bamigboye indicated: ‘Though autism is global, the way we perceive autism in our society is different. So in Nigeria we really and truly are focusing on how it fits us, how science meets our culture, and I know that we’re getting somewhere. I have no doubt that GTCO will continue to support us in the movement because of the passion with which they started and they are keeping on. They go beyond just bringing in facilitators but facilitators that will teach parents at a grassroots level.’
‘Autism is a neurological condition. It’s not because anyone’s sick or because parents lack discipline or parental training. It’s not spiritual. It’s a brain condition. It’s not about any grandmother carried the baby as a child. Or the snail they said you should not eat in your husband’s family. You ate it because you were craving for it and that’s why the child is drooling. That’s not the case. Autism and other developmental delays are connected to the brain. There is no known cause of Autism but there are some environmental factors that can aggravate very mild symptoms.’
‘That’s what GTCO has helped with over the years. We find that there is less stigmatization and the mystery around autism has been demystified.’