IFA, others want stronger inclusive policies, MDAs collaboration for disability interventions

A coalition of disability groups in Nigeria have calls for stronger government action and improved coordination to support underrepresented disability clusters in the country.

They made the call during a Political Economy and Gender Analysis of Underrepresented Groups meeting, organised by the Inclusive Friends Association (IFA), the National Association of Persons with Disabilities (JONAPWD) on Monday, CBM -Global Disability Inclusion, and SUOMI Finland.

The meeting was also for the ‘Validation of the Political Economy and Gender Assessment (PEGA)’ policy document.

Speaking at the event on Monday in Abuja, Executive Director of IFA, Grace Jerry, said the project, funded by the Finnish Government and supported by CBM Global Disability Inclusion, focuses on three of the most marginalised disability clusters: persons who are deaf, those with psycho-social disabilities, and individuals with intellectual disabilities.

According to her, the meeting with the theme, ‘Translating Evidence into Action: Advocacy Dialogue on Disability Inclusion’, aimed to examine gaps in collaboration between ministries, departments, agencies, and organisations of persons with disabilities.
“When I say underrepresented groups within the disability communities, I am talking about the deaf community, the cluster of persons with psycho-social disabilities and the cluster of people with intellectual disabilities.

“You will agree with me that this cluster of persons with disabilities have not really gained the kind of visibility and attention that we are pushing for within the disability movement.
“That is what this project seeks to attempt and like I mentioned, the research identified the gaps, so we are calling for collaboration on how MDAs can work closely and come up with tailored interventions that would serve this community,” Jerry said.

The National President of JONAPWD, Abdullah Usman, said the research highlights long-standing concerns over unequal visibility and limited support for the three clusters.
“So, we as JONAPWD are actually partnering with IFA, an NGO and OPD that has been credible and has been up and down in seeing that persons with disabilities generally are not forgotten,” Usman said.
He said that the validation alone is not enough, calling for full implementation of the document’s recommendations to achieve real impact.
Also, North-Central Zonal Coordinator of JONAPWD, Mike Gideon, said that these groups are among the most vulnerable and yet receive the least attention.
“This project has come to give attention to them in the area of health, education and observance of their human rights, because the mistake some people do is to see disability rights as a charity, forgetting that the constitution stated some of these fundamental human rights, which also affects persons with disabilities.
“So, we are partnering with IFA, a credible NGO and OPD, to ensure that persons with disabilities are not forgotten. This project addresses health, education, and human rights for these groups. Disability rights are fundamental constitutional rights, not charity,” Gideon said.
On his part, Cedric Owuru, Programme Officer at CBM Global Disability Inclusion, noted that the findings reflect longstanding gaps affecting these clusters and align with advocacy priorities already supported by law.
He highlighted key demands, including enforcement of the Mental Health Act for persons with psycho-social disabilities, full implementation of inclusive education policies for persons with intellectual disabilities, and national recognition of sign language for the deaf community.
“These requests are supported by the National Disability Act, the African Disability Protocol, and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Our role is to facilitate, but OPDs lead the advocacy. Coordination among MDAs, the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities, and OPDs is essential for meaningful change,” Owuru said.
The validation meeting brought together government MDAs, OPDs, researchers, and development partners to review findings and agree on policy and advocacy priorities.
It was targeted at improving the coordination and strengthen engagements of the underrepresented group with specific attention to; psycho-social disabilities, intellectual disabilities, and the deaf within the disability movement in Nigeria.
The session was designed to review the consultant’s presentation of the PEGA report and gather contributions from disability leaders, people with lived experience, media professionals, and key government stakeholders.