by Chris Agbo
Disability Rights Advocacy Centre (DRAC) on Monday 21st October 2019 organized an awareness walk known as Fountain Walk to commemorate World Polio Day 2019. The event/ rally was supported by the Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption (ROLAC) Programme funded by European Union and implemented by British Council. The theme of 2019 World Polio Day is Beyond polio eradication: Access to multi-sectoral Services for Polio Survivors.
Executive Director, DRAC Dr. Irene Ojiugo Patrick-Ogbogu in a press statement reaffirmed the commitment of DRAC in collaboration with other stakeholders and partners to eradicate polio completely and also intensifying efforts to rehabilitate and reintegrate the teeming population of polio survivors left with the disabling effects of the disease. The rally was designed to draw attention of the authorities and the public to the gross injustice and inequality as well as shift attention to the plights of polio survivors.
She called on authorities concern to keep vigilant because the seeming elimination of new polio cases doesn’t signal the end of the polio cases. She cautioned that the eradication of polio should not be seen as complete while those living with the disabling consequences of it continue to live in poverty and social isolation. She urged the relevant authorities to adopt the twin track approach of identifying and eliminating the polio virus while ensuring that they rehabilitate polio survivors who are facing health consequences and social consequences of polio.
Polio survivors faced many challenges such as equal access to health, education and employment opportunities, poverty and mobility aids, all these falls within the mandate of the CRPD and Nigeria Disability Rights Act therefore the needs of the polio survivors lay squarely to state intervention.
DRAC founder who is also a polio survivor explained that polio survivors confront not only a range of physical disabilities but also significant social, financial and human rights barriers hindering their integration and participation in families and communities. These barriers lead to chronic ill-health, social marginalization, limited access to education and employment and high rates of poverty. Women are impacted more and individuals from poor homes, minority communities and from rural and urban slum areas.
In accordance to Article 31 of the Convention on the rights of persons with disabilities (CRPD), she drew the attention of the authorities to the need for data for PWDs because inadequate knowledge of it has profound political, social and economic implications for local, national and international policy makers.
She praised the range of innovative strategies being used to reach out to children in high risk areas, opportunistic campaigns, market vaccination, cross border points and outreach to nomads and advised that to halt the outbreak in its entirety, all stakeholders and partners must work together to increase community based awareness, enhance surveillance to identify residual traces of the virus and ensure that all children are vaccinated with at least three doses of the oral polio vaccine.
She reminded that persons with disabilities are looking forward to government to expedite action on the implementation of the Disability Rights Act without further delay including the setting up of the National Disability Commission to ensure that the health and socio-economic needs of the polio survivors are swiftly addressed.
The event witnessed the presence of The Chairman of the Nigeria Association of the Blind FCT and members of NAB, Obinna Ekujereonye, Idemudia Lawrence from The Nigerian National Association of the Deaf, Hayat foundation, Cedarcrest Hospital (Cedarcrest Polio centre, members of the albino foundation, polio survivors from all works of life.
There were goodwill messages from NAB FCT, NNAD, Hayat Foundation, Kalamajiji community and Cedarcrest hospital.
The event was full of fun as some successful polio survivors like Nike Akinola, Miracle Eberendu Onyinyechi, Israel Akpan, Agbo Chris and Dr. Irene Ojiugo Patrick-Ogbogu shared their life experiences to add their voice on the advocacy for better welfare of the polio survivor and also to serve as role models to other polio survivors who may have given up in life as a result of the stigma associated to polio.
The event was spiced up by a dance group and a drama portraying discrimination when it come to employment opportunities and the awareness creation on the Disability Rights Act.
The Program Officer Noel Balogun displayed the simplified version of the Discrimination against persons with disabilities Prohibition Act 2018 at the event for an awareness creation about the act and some copies of the simplified version of Act provided by DRAC was distributed.
The participants at the event went round to sign petitions carrying the messages polio survivors are sending out to the authorities to address their attention to the challenges confronting them as a result of the disabling condition that polio brings.
Polio is a highly infectious disease which is as life threatening as it is disabling, it is also known as “Poliomyelitis” in medical terms, it is a disease caused by the deadly “poliovirus” usually affecting children under age 5. This virus mainly affects the nervous system, leaving the person with a weak, impaired leg and unable to walk normally for the rest of their lives. In some cases, the neck or head muscles may also be affected.
HERE ARE MORE PICTURES OF THE EVENT
