A foremost disability focused organization, Centre for Citizens with Disabilities has expressed dismay over Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 insensitive to disability inclusion in issuing the ease of lockdown guidelines.
President Mohammadu Buhari in a nationwide broadcast on Monday 27th of April, 2020 had announced that the Presidential Taskforce (PTF) on Covid-19 would provide implementation guidelines on the new measures to control the Covid-19 pandemic.
The PTF on April 30, 2020 issued guidelines to states and security agencies, detailing activities to be allowed under phase one of gradual easing of the lockdown in Lagos and Ogun States as well as the Federal Capital Territory which took effect on Monday, May 4, 2020.
In a press release on Wednesday, The executive director of CCD, David Obinna Anyaele expressed his concern that issues concerning citizens with disabilities’ access to mandatory provision of handwashing facilities/sanitizers in public places, priority access to places of economic activities and accessible isolation centres for persons with disabilities were omitted.
Anyaele added that issues around persons with disabilities’ usage of bus stops, motor parks, banks and financial institutions, government offices and other corporate organizations among the key sectors that government are monitoring citizens compliance to the guideline on Covid-19 pandemic containment were missing in the guidelines.
He is worried that the general information on new measures on the Covid-19 pandemic is silent on accessibility, attitude, communication, transportation, participation and protection of persons with disabilities from the general public in regards to curbing the spread of the virus.
“What we can deduce from these guidelines is that PTF on Covid-19 are insensitive to the plight of persons with disabilities. Our observation shows that persons with disabilities are not among vulnerable groups earmarked to benefit from government palliatives and social intervention programmes, as such persons with disabilities lives does not matter.”he said.
“We call on the Boss Musapha-led PTF on Covid-19 to review the guidelines on relaxing the lockdown to ensure that issues of critical concern to PWDs in Nigeria are addressed. In particular we urge PTF-Covd-19 to activate relevant sections of the Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act 2018 in particular sections 25,26 and 27 of the Act which provides access and priority consideration of persons with disabilities in healthcare, queues, and emergency situations.”
“We also call on PTF on Covid-19 to mandate National Centre for Disease Control to create a dedicated hotline, ambulances, and transport facilities for persons with disabilities to enable them access information and routine medical checkups. The challenge of hunger in disability communities is getting worst by the day, as such priority attention is needed on access to food and other palliatives to ensure they are not left behind in the distribution of relief materials.” Anyaele concluded.
