The Nigerian Government has received a petition with 48,063 signatures calling for action to protect disability rights ahead of a major UN summit on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) this month.
The petition was handed to Hon. Dr. Betta Edu, the Honourable Minister for Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation at the Ministry for Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation. It was signed by 48,063 people from 121 countries, including from Nigeria.
Signatories include Mr. James Lalu, the Executive Secretary, National Commission for Persons with Disabilities and Dr. Zakariya Mohammed Deputy Director, OSSAP-SDG.
National Commission for Persons With Disabilities (NCPWD), Joint National Association of Persons With Disabilities, (JONAPWD) and Sightsavers’ Equal World campaign jointly organised the ‘Promise in Peril’ petition.
The campaign is calling on world leaders to keep the SDG promise of leaving no-one behind and ensure disability is specifically addressed in discussions on the SDGs.
The government will join other member states at the SDG Summit in New York on 18-19 September, to make new commitments and assess progress on the global goals. The outcome of the summit will be a political declaration and global and national commitments made by UN member states.
According to Sightsavers Dr. Sunday Isiyaku, Country Director “As the world arrives at the halfway point of the 2030 deadline, progress on the SDGs has derailed – they are completely off-track. People with disabilities are being hit hardest by the lack of progress on poverty and inequality. The promise to leave no-one behind is in peril.”,
The call follows a new UN report which shows that the SDGs cannot be achieved unless urgent action is taken to include marginalised groups, including people with disabilities, but that they are being left furthest behind in global progress. For example, globally people with disabilities are up to twice as likely to be in poverty and those without disabilities.
Abdullahi Aliyu Usman, President of JONAPWD added, “We’re calling on all world leaders to speed up action on the SDGs and make sure they are inclusive of people with disabilities. They must ensure that the Political Declaration, and all national commitments made at the Summit, focus on reaching those who are being left furthest behind. This is our last chance to get the SDGs back on track”.
To find out more about the Equal World campaign and the petition calling on world leaders to leave no on behind,
The 2023 SDG Summit will be convened on 18-19 September 2023, during the United Nations General Assembly high-level week.
The 2023 SDG Summit marks the mid-point of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.
The UN Secretary-General’s annual report on SDG progress warns that “many of the SDGs are moderately to severely off track” – according to a preliminary assessment of around 140 targets with data, only about 12% are on track.
Heads of State and Government will gather at the United Nations Headquarters in New York to follow-up and review the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
They will carry out a comprehensive review of the state of the SDGs, respond to the impact of multiple and interlocking crises facing the world, and provide high-level political guidance on transformative and accelerated actions leading up to the target year of 2030 for achieving the SDGs.
The outcome of the Summit will be a negotiated political declaration.
Through its Equal World campaign, Sightsavers is calling on UN member states to ensure that the political declaration and all national commitments at the SDG Summit will focus on reaching those who are being left furthest behind, including people with disabilities.
Sightsavers is an international organisation that works in more than 30 countries to prevent avoidable blindness and fight for the rights of people with disabilities. Their vision is of a world where no one is blind from avoidable causes, and where people with disabilities can participate equally in society.
About Equal World
Equal World is Sightsavers’ campaign to ensure disability rights are upheld around the globe.
Promoting equal opportunities for people with visual impairments and other disabilities has been part of Sightsavers’ work throughout our history.
Around the world, there more than one billion people with disabilities. The vast majority live in low and middle income countries. More than half are women.
Many people with disabilities are denied access to their basic human rights – to education, health care, employment and political participation – because of stigma and discrimination.
Sightsavers’ Equal World campaign calls for disability rights to be upheld worldwide by campaigning at global and national levels for political change that is inclusive of people with disabilities.
For information on the Equal World campaign please visit:
campaigning.sightsavers.org.
