A Civil Society Organisation (CSO), Voice of Disability Initiative (VDI), has urged Oyo State Government to provide more employment slots and support for persons with disabilities (PWDs) in the state.
The group, in collaboration with the state chapter of Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities (JONAPWD), made the call during a day sensitisation programme organised by VDI on Saturday in Ibadan.
The sensitisation, funded by Amplifychange Donor, focused on sexual and reproductive health and rights for women and girls with disabilities in the state.
In her remarks, the Executive Director of VDI, Barr. Catherine Edeh, said that the programme was part of the activities under “PAMOJA project” to promote Integrated People Centred Approach to Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights of Women with Disabilities.
Edeh said that the project was brought to the state following series of studies which revealed total exclusion of women and girls with disabilities in matters of sexual and reproductive health and rights.
She commended the state government for providing legal and institutional frameworks for the protection of rights of persons with disabilities in the state.
Edeh, however, decried the absence of disability support desks and sign language interpreters in many government offices, especially hospitals.
She said that the situation had further compounded access to healthcare services for women and girls with disabilities in the state.
Also speaking, JONAPWD Secretary in the state, Mrs Roseline Oniyide, said that PWDs were faced with many challenges, ranging from loneliness to discrimination.
Oniyide urged Nigerians not to see disabilities as sickness but to support and encourage them through healthy relationships.
We want the government and the general public to always involve us in their plans and programmes. We do not want the public to relegate us as if we are not responsible in society.
“Families that have persons with disabilities at home should not lock them up. They are not nuisance, and we want their parents to bring them out to be part of the society,” she said.
Also, in a communique issued at the end of the programme, stakeholders appealled to Gov. Seyi Makinde to lead the disability inclusion crusade in the state.
They also urged the state government to recognise the urgency and the need to ensure that the rights of PWDs were protected in all spheres of lives and in line with United Nations principles of “Leaving No One Behind.”
The stakeholders equally appealed to the governor to set up disability support desks and engage sign language interpreters in government hospitals to enhance access to healthcare services for PWDs across the state.
They called on the state government to ensure that five per cent employment slots were reserved for eligible PWDs, in line with the Discrimination against Persons with Disability (Prohibition) Act, 2018.
They advocated for compliance by called all public structures in the state with accessibility requirements, in accordance with the Discrimination against Persons with Disability (Prohibition) Act, 2018.
The programme brought together women and girls with disabilities from different disability clusters on all the local government areas in the state
The highlight of the programme was the distribution of sanitary pads and food items to all the participating women and girls with disabilities.
