By Lizzy Okoji
The Leprosy Mission Nigeria (TLMN) has scaled up its intervention for 2023 in the country.
This is to ensure that children and young Persons With Disabilities (PWDs) were fully included in the society without any form of discrimination.
Mrs Jika Amah-Baruwa, the Senior Programme Officer, TLMN, made this known at the opening of the Mission’s 2023 Partners Inception meeting on Thursday in Abuja.
Amah-Baruwa noted that inclusion of children and young PWDs must go beyond paper work to implementation.
She said that adopting the Rights Based Approaches would enable PWDs (including children, their caregivers & families) to build resilience and actively participate in the socio-economic aspect.
Amah-Baruwa told newsmen that TLMN was determined to achieve through a cluster of 22 local partners across all geographic zones of the country, an increase from 17 individual local partners in 2022.
“This inception meeting kick-starts the process to further engage the government around disability issues.
“We say again and again that it must be an inclusive society not just on paper but that everybody matters.
“We want to see a Nigeria where PWDs have access to quality education and support services, such that our classrooms have supplies that will enable children with disability read and write unhindered.
“Afterall, PWDs pay tax, so also when it comes to development and issues in Nigeria, why are they not participating.
“It is for strategic reasons that we adopted the cluster approach and not just a single partner working independently, because we wanted a situation where we can have clusters of organisation working as a stronger component to be able to address issues.
“Though 22 partner organisations, it is a crushed component of network of partners who will be working as 16 organisations,” Amah-Baruwa said.
Meanwhile, Dr Nasir Gwarzo, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, has reiterated the Federal Government’s support to the Leprosy Mission in achieving its mandate.
Gwarzo, represented by Mr Chidera Ahauotu, Assistant Chief Social Welfare, said the ministry would work with TLMN towards actualising its 2023 objectives, aimed at inclusion and empowering people affected by leprosy and tropical diseases.
“The Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs have the mandate for disability matters in Nigeria.
“And that is one of the key areas the leprosy mission has focused on in order to promote an inclusiveness in all spheres of life in the society.
“So, we encourage the leprosy mission in whichever way they come to us, financially, morally and where we can.
“They help us in designing some of the programmes that will assist the disability community and we continue to exchange ideas on how to enhance the disability community.
“And all other persons affected by leprosy and other neglected tropical diseases in Nigeria,” Gwarzo said.
Similarly, Mr Afolabi Fajemilo, the Executive Director, Festus Fajemilo Foundation, one of TLMN’s partner organisations, said that they would continue to do more to meet the needs of persons with disabilities and those infected with leprosy.
“We have been reaching out to persons with disabilities, especially children, in critical areas including health education, livelihood.
“So this year, we intend to reach out more to target beneficiaries bearing in mind the effect of COVID-19 still in place, the recent crises in the country regarding currency crunch.
“So we intend to deepen our programmes in terms of education, livelihood to provide succour for our target beneficiaries, their parents and caregivers.
“It will be our desire to have more funding, support from Liliane Foundation via the Leprosy Mission so that we can achieve more,” Fajemilo said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that TLMN SPO-PO meeting seeks to bring partner organisations together at its instance as the strategic partners organisation to synchronize work plan for the year and the budgeting. (NAN).
