Save the Children strengthens the capacity and knowledge of OPDs to enhance disability inclusion in social protection programmes

October 12, 2020

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by Chris Agbo,

Saheed Mustafa, senior policy and advocacy advisor, Save the Children facilitating one of the sessions

Save the Children organized a four-day CDGP Social Protection Training Workshop for Organization of Persons with disabilities (OPDs).

CDGP, is a UKAid funded social protection programme, implemented by Save the Children and Action Against Hunger that commenced in Nigeria in 2014. During its first phase, the progamme was positioned as a “Cash Plus for Nutrition”, aimed at contributing to the reduction of the high malnutrition levels in Northern Nigeria, by targeting and providing cash-transfer to pregnant women and women with children under the age of two years, in selected communities of Zamfara and Jigawa states.

In the second phase, CDGP will focus on supporting the Federal government and selected state governments to strengthen their social protection systems, in order to contribute to a greater coverage of inclusive and accountable social protection.

Through the Federal and State government, CDGP will also contribute to systems and capacity strengthening across all 36 states. CDGP’s ultimate aim is to ensure the existence of an enabling environment, strong systems and adequate capacity for the scale up of social protection in the country, thus contributing to the country’s poverty reduction efforts and simultaneously improving the ability, opportunity and dignity of the poor and vulnerable.

The training was organized to strengthen capacity and knowledge of OPDs on social protection programmes to mainstream disability inclusion in ongoing social protection programmes being organized by government.

**Esther Angulu, Social Inclusion Officer, CDGP facilitating a session**

The CDGP trainers took the OPDs on understanding social protection, social inclusion, policy to practice, social accountability and nutrition.

On day four, the participants were grouped and they worked on action plan to be implemented to mainstream persons with disabilities in the Federal and State governments social protection programmes.

Some of the action plans are carrying out a needs assessment to ascertain how much persons with disabilities has been excluded from social intervention programmes, advocacy and awareness creation, capacity building of relevant stakeholders on disability inclusion in the social protection programmes.

Some notable participants at the training were Jake Epelle(The Albino Foundation TAF), Dr. Irene Ojiugo Patrick-Ogbogu( Disability Rights Advocacy Centre(DRAC), Patience Ogolo (AWWDI), Lois Auta ( Cedar Seeds Foundation and Network of Disabled Women, Chris Agbo (The Qualitative Magazine TQM), Rasak Adekoya (Sightsavers), Sola Aderibigbe (JONAPWD), Jesse John( Inclusive Friends Foundation), Avershim Akighir (Possibility TV), Ina Ejindu Obasi ( FCTA Staff with disabilities), Adaobi Ebonyi(NAB) and many others.

Mariam Yakubu of Save the Children facilitating a session

Some participants at the workshop told TQM that the training was an eye opener to them as they have not been working in that area even though social protection programmes are geared towards poverty reduction and poverty dwells more among persons with disabilities and in programmes like these, there should be deliberate effort to include persons with disabilities.