by Chris Agbo
Disability Law Advocacy Project (DLAP) Department of Jurisprudence and International Law, Faculty of Law, University of Ilorin has warned that Persons with Disability should not be excluded in the fight against COVID-19.
In a statement released on Monday by Dr. J.O Olatoke, SAN (Project Head), he expressed dismay that in the recent broadcast to the country by the President, there was no sign language interpreter to relay the message to the deaf community. The same therefore translates also to the exclusion of other persons with disabilities. Indeed, all the measures taken so far appear to be oblivious of people with disabilities as no mention was made of them and no form of arrangements or palliatives made to support them at this critical moment.
COVID-19 is ravaging the world and that the world is up in arms against the pandemic is no longer news. The efforts of the international community and Nigeria to contain the spread of the virus continues to grow with little successes in the struggle. The greatest and most efficient of the tactics remain the social distance approach that is aimed at reducing close contact and thereby reducing the possible spread of the virus. DLAP however observe that the efforts seem to neglect or ignore the plight of persons with disabilities (PWDs).
Therefore, he called on the Federal and State governments to ensure that PWDs are not left behind in the fight against this common enemy of mankind. There is therefore the need to disseminate information widely in such manners that would also be beneficial to PWDs. In addition, the several economic stimulus plans rolled out by the government should not be devoid of the plights of PWDs. Lagos State government plans a distribution of food materials to close to 200 families, the question therefore is to what extent PWDs are covered in this scheme. It is therefore the call of DLAP that specific schemes targeted at persons with disabilities be formulated to ensure that they are not lost in the crowd. Specific package should be made for PWDs so that their disability does not become a disadvantage at this period. DLAP also calls on NGO’s especially its funders Open Society Initiative of West Africa (OSIWA) to sustain targeted advocacy to ensure the victory over the pandemic.
