people living with disabilities in Nigeria will be established soon, the
Federal Government has announced. It said the commission would be the
next action to be taken by the present administration with respect to
supporting the PLWDs. The first action, it said, was the presidential
assent to the Discrimination Against Persons with Disability Prohibition
Act, 2018. The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and
Social Development, Sadiya Farouq, disclosed this during the celebration
of the 2019 International Day for Persons with Disabilities in Abuja.
Farouq said, “The establishment of a commission for people with
disabilities is going to be my first document to be submitted to FEC
(Federal Executive Council). “The commission will be saddled with the
responsibility of the day-to-day affairs and engagement of these persons
with disabilities, and they are going to have budgets and programmes
that the government is going to execute. It is an important commission
for us as a government.” “Recall that the government of President
Muhammadu Buhari has just signed the Discrimination Against Persons with
Disability Prohibition Act. So this is one step which the government has
taken and now the next step is for us to have that commission in
place.”
The minister said the PLWDs would receive the support of the Federal
Government in whatever way they needed it, which was why five ministers
from different ministries attended the function to encourage Nigerians
living with disabilities. “The significance of this celebration is for
them (the PLWDs) to know that they are not left behind; rather they are
being carried along and are going to be supported in whatever way they
need the government’s support,” Farouq stated. The Permanent
Secretary, Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management
and Social Development, Anna-Anetu Aliu, said over 27 million people in
Nigeria were living with one form of disability or the other.
When you talk about people with disabilities the picture that instantly
comes in your mind are people with serious physical disabilities.
However, the term includes a lot more. According to the World Health
Organization, this term includes all those who not only suffer PHYSICAL
DISABILITY but also disabilities that enforce activity limitations,
participation limitations and other FORMS OF IMPAIRMENT DISABILITIES.
Personal growth impairments are also considered as disabilities. It is
important that you understand all these different aspects in order to
know the importance of the situation.
People with disabilities of such kinds which you cannot perceive with
your eye also require special care and attention and also our attention.
You need to understand the effect that these disabilities cause to the
person suffering from them. Some of these disabilities might be from
birth, however, you will surely come across various disability scenarios
where the person affected by the disability had either met with a recent
accident or has undergone some serious illness that has rendered the
person with the disability.
The ISSUES RELATED TO DISABILITY is not merely the fact that the person
is suffering from certain restraints in physical or mental or social
aspects but it goes beyond this point in concern about the livelihood of
the person affected with such disabilities. Governments and global
organizations like the WHO are trying to find the solution to help these
persons with the proper means of sustaining themselves.
Disability is part of the human condition. Almost everyone will be
temporarily or permanently impaired at some point in life, and those who
survive to old age will experience increasing difficulties in
functioning. Most extended families have a disabled member, and many
non-disabled people take responsibility for supporting and caring for
their relatives and friends with disabilities. On the other hand,
Disability is complex, dynamic, multidimensional, and contested. The
transition from an individual, medical perspective to a structural,
social perspective has been described as the shift from a “medical
model” to a “social model” in which people are viewed as being
disabled by society rather than by their bodies. The medical model and
the social model are often presented as dichotomous, but disability
should be viewed neither as purely medical nor as purely social: persons
with disabilities can often experience problems arising from their
health condition.
According to the World Bank’s World Report on Disability, about 25
million Nigerians have at least one disability, and 3.6 million
Nigerians have very significant difficulty. Article 1 of Nigeria’s
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) provides
that, “persons with disabilities include those who have long-term
physical, mental and intellectual or sensory impairments in which
interactions with various barriers may hinder their full and effective
participation in society on an equal basis with others.” Such barriers
include access to education, healthcare, public facilities, negative
stereotypes, dearth to public awareness and understanding of
disabilities, and more. Indeed, the words of former Secretary-General of
the United Nations Ban Ki-Moon that “education promotes equality and
brings people out of poverty,” ring true for both non-disabled and
disabled citizens. Education will build the capacities of PWDs,
ultimately reducing poverty and boosting prosperity, the World Bank’s
twin goals, and also re-echoes several of the 2030 Sustainable
Development Goals.
The World Health Organization (WHO) reported in a 29-country study in
Africa that the foremost cause of disability was infectious disease. The
leading conditions included malaria, polio and leprosy, along with other
communicable diseases such as tuberculosis, trachoma, media, meningitis
and parasitic disease. The incidence of many of these communicable
diseases has been greatly reduced in developed countries but they remain
a significant cause of disability in LICs. The second major cause of
disability was war, trauma or accidents (primarily road accidents). The
third most common cause of disability was congenital and non-infectious
diseases such as epilepsy. Other causes of disability include
malnutrition due to vitamin A, iron and iodine deficiency and chronic
medical conditions such as rheumatic diseases, stroke and diabetes. The
HIV/AIDS epidemic has further contributed to the prevalence of
disability because many people living with HIV develop different types
of impairments and functional limitations. The study found that chronic
conditions such as heart disease and diabetes are in large part
outpacing traditional public health targets such as malnutrition and
childhood infectious diseases, Mental illness and low back pain are the
most common causes of disability.
Experts in the disability-related fields consider negative attitude as
the greatest barriers to the field of education of special needs.
Negative attitudes towards the fields in terms of funding and political
will to implement its policies, in turn, leads to negative attitudes to
its clients. Students with disabilities continue to face negative
attitudes and stereotypes in the education system. Lack of knowledge
about and sensitivity to disability issues on the part of some
educators, staff and students can make it difficult for students with
special needs to access educational services equally with the so-called
‘normal’. Until the government and our political leaders rise up and
continue to pay particular attention to their needs with an effort to
increase their participation in community life, societal prejudices will
continue to abound. Inclusiveness of the field and persons with special
needs will be greatly jeopardized except negative attitudes and
segregation are ended. Attitudinal barriers can take the form of
misconception, mythical beliefs and even labelling. Excessive exhibition
of these by society could lead to psychological and emotional burdens on
persons with special needs.
More so, special needs education to cater for the physically challenged
expects that barriers will be broken where:
· Health, education and social care are organised around the needs of
children and their families, with better information-sharing and
assessments leading to early intervention
· Persons with special needs having access to good quality childcare
and early year’s provision in their local community.
· Schools with the skills and resources to enable them to take prompt
action to help children who are falling behind their classmates
· Special education teachers and early year’s staff spend more time
supporting early intervention and less time on special education-related
paperwork.
· Local authorities extend special needs education advice and support
services to early years settings in developing the skills and awareness
on issues related to disabilities.
· Government funding should be increased and disbursed appropriately to
schools to support early intervention and effective management of
resources, through practical guidance, expert advice and support
· Government cut bureaucracy on issues and decision affecting persons
with special needs by helping them to focus on the essentials and make
better use of the available resources
· Legislative provisions to cater for the health, education, social
welfare, removal of stigma, negative attitudes and other benefits that
will enable social inclusion.
The most challenges facing persons with Disabilities can be classified
thus,
i) They face challenges in accessing health services as
they usually get humiliated by health providers, while health centres’
infrastructure pose obstacles for them to reach the areas
ii) There is gender imbalance of employment opportunities
to PWDs as men with disabilities are more employed than that of their
counterparts and that the working environment is not friendly to PWDs.
iii) Persons with Disabilities face challenges as denial
of employment, economic marginalization. They are regarded as people who
cannot contribute to anything, are dependant and always wait to be
helped.
iv) Lack of physical power. PWDs also lack physical energy
to fight sexual aggressors
v) Poverty. Most people with disabilities are poor so
they look for money and get HIV/AIDS in the process.
vi) Limited access to information. They are marginalized
groups who are not easily reached by health information sites, for
example, many people with disabilities do not have the opportunity to
access where HIV/AIDS discussion, blood screening and sensitization take
place. In the same manner, they deliberately have unprotected sex with
them.
vii) Wrong belief that women with disabilities are not
HIV/AIDS infected. Some men tend to assume that women with disabilities
are less likely to have HIV/AIDS and so involve them in sexual
relations.
Possible solutions The African states’ including Nigerian governments
in cooperation with civil society are supposed to implement the
following:
1. Formulate and implement national policies, programmes and legislation
to promote the full and equal participation of persons with
disabilities;
2. Promote the participation of Persons with Disabilities in the process
of economic and social development;
3. Promote the self-representation of People with Disabilities in all
public decision-making structures;
4. To enhance support services for disabled persons;
5. Promote special measures for children, youth, women and elderly
persons with disabilities;
6. Ensure and improve access to rehabilitation, education, training,
employment, sports, the cultural and physical environment;
7. To promote and protect disability rights as human rights;
8. To support the development of and strengthen ‘Disabled Persons’
organizations;
9. Mobilize resources.
It is therefore expected that with commission for the physically
challenged persons in place, it will go a very long way to more than
ever before bring their challenges to the fore and will assist in no
small measures in resolving them and making them live a more qualitative
life.