SCIAN charges govt on good policies to stop discrimination

• Visually impaired persons demand inclusion in palliative measures
• Decry rising cost of living, others

The Spinal Cord Injuries Association of Nigeria (SCIAN) has called on the three tiers of government, as well as corporate organisations, to respect the Discrimination Against Persons with Disability (Prohibition) Act 2018 and ensure that policies, appointments and facilities reflect the provisions of the Act.

President of the association, Abdulwahab Matepo, said many spinal cord injured persons rot away at home after leaving the hospital, as there is no public and affordable rehabilitation centre to address their physical and mental health challenges.

RELATEDLY, Muslim Association of Visually Impaired of Nigeria (MAVIN) has called on President Bola Tinubu, members of the National Assembly and government at all levels to look urgently into the plight of the persons living with disabilities and take the necessary and appropriate measures in alleviating their problems occasioned by the current socio-economic hardship and the recent removal of fuel subsidy.

In a statement by its President, AbdulWasiu Salaudeen, the association said physically challenged persons had been forgotten and not considered in all series of interventions, considering their inhibiting physical condition, and their lack of access to where they could benefit from distributed items.

Matepo, who disclosed this in Lagos, yesterday, during the 2023 International Spinal Cord Injuries Awareness Day, titled, “Access to Spinal Cord Injuries (SCI) services, a life less complicated,” said the association wishes to use the occasion to bring to the attention of members of the public to the challenges faced by Nigerians with spinal cord injury.

He said spinal cord injury is the major cause of disability, which is ubiquitous and as such, it should be the concern of everyone. He said anything could make anyone to be disabled, and anyone could be disabled at any point in time, hence disability should be everyone’s concern.

RELATEDLY, Muslim Association of Visually Impaired of Nigeria (MAVIN) has called on President Bola Tinubu, members of the National Assembly and government at all levels to look urgently into the plight of the teeming population of persons living with disabilities and take the necessary and appropriate measures in alleviating their problems occasioned by the current socio-economic hardship and the recent removal of fuel subsidy.

In a statement by its President, AbdulWasiu Salaudeen, the association said physically challenged persons had been forgotten and not considered in all series of interventions, considering their inhibiting physical condition, and their lack of access to where they could benefit from distributed items.

MAVIN, therefore, urged President Bola Tinubu and all relevant authorities to expediently look into their demands and make necessary adjustments in the spirit of fairness, equity and justice that the citizens of Nigeria deserve.

Matepo said the difference between spinal cord injured persons in the developed countries and Nigeria is lack of access to post-injury rehabilitation facilities, which has remained a mirage in Nigeria.

Public Relations Officer (PRO) of SCIAN, Funmilayo Mobolaji, said for many decades that SCIAN was allocated a piece of land to build a rehabilitation centre in Lagos, the association had not been able to put up the building or procure the necessary equipment due to lack of funds. She said lack of access to rehabilitation facilities had seriously affected the level of SCIAN functionality, thus making life quite difficult and complicated for members of the association.

Mobolaji, therefore, appealed to the government to graciously consider the construction of the SCIAN rehabilitation complex as a major intervention in the health sector.