In a statement release from Disability Rights Advocacy Centre (DRAC) on Wednesday, The Executive Director of DRAC, Dr. Irene Ojiugo Patrick-Ogbogu announced that DRAC has closed down all her activities due to Coronavirus.
As you are aware, the whole world is currently battling with the Coronavirus or COVID 19 which has led to it being declared a global pandemic.
As soon as the news broke of its presence in Nigeria, DRAC took immediate steps to put in place response and prevention measures. This was further necessitated by the vulnerability of persons with disabilities who constitute the majority of our staff, volunteers and beneficiaries and who are not usually prioritized in emergency responses.
DRAC put in place a 5-person “COVID19 response team” with the task of educating and updating us on new information, conducting ongoing risk assessments and advising us on necessary measures.
Our response team has today advised that, in view of the latest information on the identification of 5 new cases today March 18, we suspend all project activities and close down the office for at least 2 weeks while we review the situation and see how things play out.
This decision is even more crucial as our healthcare facilities are currently inaccessible to persons with disabilities, it would therefore be a double jeopardy and almost fatality to expose them to risks that could land them in hospital.
Therefore, with effect from March 19, 2020, DRAC hereby suspends all activities and will be shutting down our offices temporarily until the situation clarifies. We can still be reached via email and phone calls.
Let us all stay safe and take necessary precautions as we hope this blows over soonest.
