NAPTIP on Thursday donated foods items to Disability Rights Advocacy Center (DRAC) for onward distribution to indigent persons with disabilities in continuation of the mobile food drive to cushion the effect of the lockdown on them.
DRAC in their official Facebook page announced this gesture by NAPTIP and they expressed joy by stating the following;
” we are proud and happy that our work as a Frontline humanitarian responder in the push for a disability inclusive response, has been recognized by a highly esteemed body as NAPTIP and that this additional task has been entrusted to us.”
The screenshot of DRAC’s expressing their gratitude to NAPTIP for supporting the mobile food distribution to PWDs
DRAC has carried out these distribution with upmost transparency and they already have an established systems.
Items donated includes yams, eggs, cucumber and live chickens.
DRAC is still open for more supports and donation as they say, we won’t stop if you don’t stop.
European Union(EU) Ambassador to Nigeria, Ketil Karlsen on Thursday flagged off 2200 COVID-19 palliatives by EU’s delegation in Nigeria. The flag off was done with PWDs’ community in Karamajiji colony Abuja.
According to the Ambassador, over 40million naira worthy of palliatives will be distributed across FCT to the vulnerable (persons with disabilities, widows etc).
The primary target of this initiative being the persons with disabilities, the flag off was done in Disability colony, Karamjiji and Jake Epelle, CEO and The Founder of The Albino Foundation on behalf of the foundation received 500 packs and handed all the packs to The Emir of the Disability colony and the leadership of FCT JONAPWD for distribution.
Jake Epelle, Ketil Karlsen and sign language interpreter, Timothy Tinat at the event
Notable disability leaders at the event were Jake Epelle (TAF), Lois Auta(Cedar Seed), Dr. Chike Okogwu (CARE NIgeria), FCT JONAPWD Chairman, Alhaji Abdulmumuni Ujah and The Emir of Disability colony.
The Qualitative Magazine learnt that in the coming days, the EU team will be distributing these palliatives in different community of the FCT.
As the world mark the MayDay, the world recognized worker’s day, Sightsavers Inclusion Works project use the opportunity to call on the private sector, national and state government to improve the lives of people with disabilities in Nigeria by promoting equal opportunity and disability rights throughout its work.
As world is celebrating this year’s labour day during this global pandemic, it is worthy of praising and commending social workers and care givers who are ensuring people with disabilities live healthy, providing them with emotional, social, economic and psychological support.
While no one has an immune system to resist the corona virus, it has been proven that our level of vulnerability differs, depending on context, but people with disabilities are the largest vulnerable group in Nigeria and they are likely to be among those who suffer most during this lock down.
In a press statement released to The Qualitative Magazine, the organization emphazied that with over 20 million persons with disability in Nigeria, more than 90% of working age are yet to have equal right to employment, both in the formal and informal sector owing to attitudinal, institutional, environmental and communication barriers.
Despite the signing of the discrimination against prohibition act by the President in January 2019 and few States like Lagos, Ondo, Jigawa, Plateau and Anambra having their own State disability law with a disability agency established, government is yet to implement and realize the potentials persons with disabilities can contribute to the economy if employed. According to World Bank, a country that is inclusive of persons with disabilities in its development planning and fully annex their talent will likely increase its GDP by 3-8%.
If both private sector employer, national and State government had invested and give opportunity to thousands of people with disabilities prior to COVID-19, it will have significant impact in decreasing the number of vulnerable groups they will cater for during this global economic lockdown. They would have been earning, build some level of resilience and possibly recover quickly post COVID-19.
The group informed that the future of work will change to the virtual space post COVID-19 and this pose a significant opportunity for employers who are willing to reduce their operational cost to employ people with disabilities. Most online meeting platforms, productivity tools and software’s are becoming accessible and this provides opportunity for PWDs to work effectively, contribute and meaningfully participate in decision making in the organisation.
Although there are certain gaps, but through the DFID Inclusion Works project, Sightsavers is working with five organisation of persons with disabilities – The Albino Foundation, Nigeria Association of the Blind, Down Syndrome Foundation Nigeria, Network of Disabled Women and Kanawa Educational Foundation for the Disabled across Lagos, FCT and Kano to provide technical assistance in building the disability confidence of employers, enhancing the employability skills, competence and job readiness of people with disabilities, advocating to government and private sector to give equal right and opportunity to people with disabilities.
When they say there is ability in disability, we change the narrative and strongly believe there is productivity in disability.
For more enquiries, Contact:
Rasak Adekoya,
Email: g Tel: +234829045.
About Sightsavers Nigeria
SightSavers is an international development organisation working in Nigeria for over 60 years preventing and eliminating avoidable blindness and promoting the equal rights of people with disabilities. We work with local communities and organisations, using local volunteers to build trust and encourage people to own the solution we provide and sustain them.
Since the commencement of the lockdown to curb the spread of COVID-19 in Oyo state, the first President of Joint National Association of Persons with disabilities (JONAPWD) and the current board of trustees (BOT ) Chairman of JONAPWD, Prince Paul Adelabu has been feeding homeless persons with disabilities and other vulnerable people in the street of Ibadan, Oyo state Capital.
In The Qualitative Magazine chat with him, he said that he has been able to feed these homeless people for three times.
He said that when he started it from the help of his friends of Prince Paul Adelabu home and abroad as well as his children. Some people saw it on the internet, ask for his account, donated to support. That’s why it continued on weekly basis.
He went on to plead for more support to do more because Hungervirus is more in the society than Coronavirus.
Lionheart ability Leaders International Foundation in conjunction with H.A.F. Fashion Designers presents Nose-Mask Project Oyo. We intend to reach 2 to 3 states as soon as circumstances allow. Our aim is to reach at least 1,000 beneficiaries, and we can do more if we get more sponsors. Are you an individual with disabilities, a single mother or a widow residing in Oyo State? Do you need a nose mask and having difficulty getting one? You are a call away from getting one! Call Titi on 08065825200, Bimpe on 09072753914, Modupeoluwa on 08065491463, or Princely on 08030680585. Together we will make A Difference!
The Board of Trustees of the Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities (JONAPWD) has urged the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 to adopt strategies that will ensure no strata of the society is left behind in the current interventions to cushion the effects of the pandemic.
In a open letter signed by The Chairman, BOT, Prince Paul Adelabu, the agitation is all about the inclusion of persons with disabilities in all the government interventions about COVID-19.
He expressed dismay ovet the exclusion of persons within all COVID-19 interventions, noting that the disability community was most affected with impact of COVID-19 both economically and health-wise.
While acknowledging efforts of different individuals with disabilities and organizations of persons with disabilities pushing for the inclusion of PWDs in the various levels of intervention, Adelabu expressed worry on the level of gaps and abysmal neglect of PWDs in the distribution of relief materials as palliative measures by both government and private sector.
JONAPWD as the umbrella body of all disability organizations in Nigeria therefore calls on the Presidential Task Force-PTF on COVID 19, the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management, the private sector and NGOs to comply to the mandates set by the UN Convention on the Rights of persons with Disabilities, articles 43 and 11, and the Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act 2018, by adopting a more coordinated approach to reaching out to the disability community in Nigeria through JONAPWD Board of Trustees.
He informed that JONAPWD has a well-defined structure of engagement; with six zonal coordinators, state chairpersons in all the 36 states and FCT, including local government councils in Nigeria.
He said JONAPWD has over the years, through her active engagement with critical stakeholders became an institutional hub on disability and development in Nigeria, adding that dealing directly with the body will go a long way to prevent measures that will be counter-productive.
He concluded by saying that it is more ideal for all persons with disabilities to come under one united voice for the common good of all especially in intervention like this.
COVID-19 PALLIATIVE SOCIETY FOR THE EMPOWERMENT OF YOUNG PERSONS in collaboration with IT BEGINS WITH YOU FOUNDATION on Wednesday distributed relief materials like different foods items to the vulnerable families in Oka community in Ikpoba Okha LGA of Edo State.
It is a gesture to help cushion the effect of the lockdown.
Since lockdown measures began in Nigeria due to COVID-19, many already vulnerable people have found things even harder. Credit: EU/Samuel Ochai
For Hadiza Musa, 37, fending for her family each week was a struggle before the coronavirus. Since she lost her husband to an HIV-related illness in 2015, she has had to raise her three children in Nigeria’s city of Kaduna alone.
Now, things are even tougher. Lockdown measures have been in place in Nigerian cities since late March, forcing many businesses to close and transport to stop. Musa has lost her job and cannot get to the pharmacy to top up her HIV medication.
“Our situation is terrible,” she says. “We are not eating. There is no food. I usually cry, then I clean my tears. One of my children is on a medication that requires him to eat, but we don’t eat so how can he take the medication?”
In Nigeria, 1,532 people have confirmed casesof COVID-19 and 44 have died. But tens of millions have been affected by the response to the pandemic. For vulnerable Nigerians already on the fringes, the pandemic has thrust them even further towards the edge.
The government has announced some measures to help poor communities, but few people feel they can rely on the state. They are finding ways to support each another.
For Musa, that aid has come in the form of Aisha Usman for the past two weeks. Through her religious network, Usman has been delivering food and medication to HIV-positive widows in Kaduna. The calls for help have been overwhelming.
“Many of them cannot get their medication now as many pharmacies are closed,” she says.
Not everyone, however, has been as fortunate to find help from local support groups. Ibrahim Maryam, who works in Kano state for local NGO Transparency and Development Information Initiative, lost two family members to malaria over the weekend.
“I just came back from the burial of two family members who died on Saturday,” he says. “It is painful. Both of them were suffering from malaria but they could not get their medication.”
“Coronavirus is deadly, but we have to get this information out that more people are dying of hypertension, diabetes, pneumonia, malaria here,” he continues. “Some doctors have stopped working owing to fear and some chemists are shut.”
We’ve got nothing from the government
The federal government says it has sent resources to Nigeria’s 36 states to support poor people. However, many people in difficult situations have not benefited from the scheme. According to Usman, one problem is that the register used to identify those in need is deeply inadequate.
“There are very poor people who have not received anything from the government,” she says. Contacted by African Arguments, the spokesperson from the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development said each state government is responsible for organising the distribution of food and cash transfers in its locality.
In some cities, such as Lagos, local councils have gone to communities to hand out food directly with mixed results. When Asabi Sani, 29, heard this was happening near her home in Ajegunle, a neighbourhood known for its crowded homes and poor living conditions, she rushed out. By the time she got there, however, some people had overrun the site and seized the remaining supplies. “The police had to fire teargas to disperse the crowd,” she says.
This put Sani, a single mother who has lost her job, in a tough spot. “I have some food at home but I am worried that I will soon run out of supply if the lockdown continues,” she says. Increasingly anxious, she has started cutting down the family’s meals. “My five-year-old son is not happy with the rationing. He cries for more food. When his cries upset me, I spank him,” she says.
Abibat Abiola, a widow in Lagos, has resorted to borrowing from family members since she too lost her job. This has kept her afloat so far, but she says it will be unsustainable if the government does not ensure support reaches those who need it.
“I want the government to monitor the process of sharing the palliatives as those who are supposed to share the food are hoarding it,” she says. “They can also pay poor people directly using their bank accounts.”
In Kano state, Aminu Tundun-Wada also urges his state government to quickly improve its provision of help. He is the vice-chair of his state’s chapter of the Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities. According to his data, people with disabilities in just 3 of 44 local government areas in Kano have received any support thus far.
“Please help us get this information out as our members in the other 41 local governments areas have not got anything from the government,” he says.
“When it is threatened, it bites”
On Monday, President Muhammadu Buhari announced that lockdown measures will start to be eased in Abuja, Lagos and Ogun state from 4 May. Many restrictions will remain in place, however, while existing lockdowns have been extended in many other Nigerian cities.
In the absence of effective measures to alleviate the hardship for the most vulnerable, observers worry how people will survive under these conditions for several more weeks. Professor of Virology Oyewala Tomori urges the federal and state governments to join forces to come up with a unified plan.
“Unless the government finds an urgent solution to effectively get the palliatives to the majority of people adversely affected by the lockdown, we will not only fail to protect the lives of our people but we will destroy the livelihood of families of workers and business owners,” he says. “Our people will lose their dignity and live in fear.”
Oni Fagbohungbe, a professor of Psychology at the University of Lagos, predicts that if this happens, people may take the law into their own hands.
“The sheep is a weak and submissive animal but when it is threatened, it bites,” he warns.
Most hope it does not come to this. Across Nigeria, tens of millions are struggling to access food and medicine and want local authorities to help them. Some are using the hashtag #hungervirus to share their stories or videos of them banging pots and pans to express their displeasure. Others are just appealing to officials to heed their calls.
“We hope that our cries will attract the attention of the state government,” says Usman.
As part of measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus otherwise known as COVID-19 pandemic, the Federal Capital Territory, FCT Administration has directed all members of its Ministerial Enforcement team to undergo compulsory testing for the dreaded disease. Chairman of the FCT Task team, Ikharo Attah stated this yesterday after health officials from the FCT Health Emergency COVID-19 Response Team sensitized the personnel during their early morning parade at the Eagle Square. Explaining the rationale for the tests, Attah said; “the Enforcement personnel drawn from the Nigerian Police, DSS, Civil Defence Corps, FRSC, DRTS, Abuja Environmental Protection Board and the AMAC Marshal are frontline workers. We are the ones who have regular contact with members of the public. “The FCT Health and Human Services Secretariat will give us a timetable for the testing which will last for five days.” Meanwhile, the Ministerial Enforcement task team also visited the Bureau de change mosque/prayer ground at Wuse Zone 4 where worshippers were seen gathered in large numbers conducting prayers. “The Imam of the mosque and some leaders were arrested and taken to the mobile court while others fled into nearby bushes to escape arrest”, Attah said. The Enforcement team also accompanied officials of the Development Control Department to Paipe settlement located along the Idu Train Station road to remove illegal structures which are being constructed under the cover of the lockdown.
Deputy Senate President, Ovie Omo-Agege, has few words for those pressuring President Muhammadu Buhari to reopen the economy.
He said only the living benefit from the economy.
Furthermore, the Deputy speaker, while speaking during Tuesday plenary, said how worried he has become over the “raging agitation” for Buhari to reopen the economy in the face of COVID-19.
Also, the motion entitled “COVID-19 Pandemic: Reviewing the national response to the challenges and the way forward” sponsored by the majority leader, Abdullahi Yahaya.
Ovie Omo-Agege stated;
“What concerns me most is the raging agitation to rush Mr President to reopen the country.
Mr President, I am worried and very concerned.”
“still bewildered why the decision of lockdown still limited to these three states.
What concerns me the most is the urging agitation to reopen the economy. worried and concerned.
The argument is being made that the cure should not be worse than the problem.
People worried about the effect of the pandemic.
“It is my belief that you have to be alive first before you can seek the benefit of an economy.
It does not appear that those who are clamouring for the reopening of this economy are mindful of that.
For a historian, we know what occurred in 1918, following the Spanish flu,
we remember how people agitated and as soon as that was done,
there was a spike off the spread of the disease.
“That was in 1918 and 1919.
In the first 14 days of the lockdown, we didn’t prepare enough by way of palliatives.
There is this misconception that the federal government has the
responsibility to provide the palliatives. That should not be the situation.”
