Festus Fajemilo Foundation (FFF) has launched new project to expand disability inclusive social protection (EDISOP).
Expanding Disability Inclusive Social Protection (EDISOP) which would be implemented by FFF is funded by Disability Rights Fund (DRF) with the objective of advocating for disability-inclusive and gender-responsive social protection and COVID-19 recovery programs in Lagos State to guard against the neglect of persons with disabilities during disaster and emergencies in Nigeria.
In a 1-day Virtual launch and press conference on 21st October, 2022, Mr. Afolabi Fajemilo, the Executive Director of FFF stated that Inclusion of persons with disabilities (PWDs) in establishment and implementation of social protection policy frameworks by governments at national and subnational levels in Nigeria especially in the last one decade have been very poor.
“Not only have social protection programs failed to meet the actual needs of PWDs, but these programs have also failed to reach more vulnerable PWDs including children with disabilities, persons with multiple disabilities, persons with intellectual and psychosocial disabilities, residing in rural communities and hard-to-reach areas, as well as girls and women with disabilities”.
“The advent of COVID-19 pandemic has worsened inclusion of more vulnerable PWDs in social protection programs. For instance, 15,000 (0.75%) of about two million PWDs in Lagos State were reached with social protection COVID-19 palliative and other interventions between April 2020 and September 2021”.
“Worst still, organizations of persons with disabilities (OPDs) have not demonstrated enough institutional and leadership capacities to advocate for inclusion of more vulnerable PWDs in delivery of social protection programs especially within the context of a pandemic”.
He stated that EDISOP project seeks to support OPDs towards developing sustainable leadership, institutional and advocacy capacities sensitive to social protection needs of marginalized PWDs, as well as the capacity to engage relevant agencies of government towards strengthening disability-inclusive social protection interventions.
He also informed that the objective of The virtual launch and press conference on expanding disability inclusive social protection (EDISOP) project was to enable media organizations, stakeholders and public to become more responsive towards promoting inclusion of persons with disabilities in social and covid-19 response programs in Lagos state with a view to amplify and reach out to a wider audience.
He stated that the strategies to achieve objective of project are
• Situation analysis of social protection and COVID-19 recovery programs in Lagos State to ascertain the level of inclusivity
• Awareness raising on disability-inclusive social protection in target communities
• One-day sensitization training (training of trainers) for OPD members on social protection policy & monitoring
• Advocacy Visit by OPD members to Key MDAs
• Sensitization training (training of trainers) for OPD members on social protection policy & monitoring
• One-day training for key MDAs officials on disability -inclusive social protection post covid-19 era
• Participation of OPDs in Townhall meetings with election candidates.
And the Key considerations for disability-inclusive social protection interventions are:
• Interventions are tailored to peculiar needs and concerns of persons with disabilities (PWDs)
• Participation of PWDs in the design process of intervention programs
• Governance and structures should be disability inclusive
• Awareness raising on disability-inclusive social protection
