Stakeholders have lamented that underrepresented groups within Nigeria’s disability community continue to face double discrimination, calling for stronger implementation of policies and laws to guarantee their rights and meaningful participation in society.

They spoke in Abuja at the Phase One Stakeholders’ Engagement and Collaboration Forum of the Rights in Action (RiA) Project, organised by the Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities (JONAPWD), in collaboration with Inclusive Friends Association (IFA) and CBM Global.

The forum focused particularly on persons with intellectual disabilities, persons with psychosocial disabilities and Deaf persons, who stakeholders said continued to face barriers to education, public services, communication, policy processes and decision-making.

National President of JONAPWD, Abdullah Usman, said persons in these categories often suffered discrimination not only from the wider society but also within the disability community.

He said, “If generally persons with disabilities have been discriminated against, the minority among persons with disabilities will face double discrimination.”

Usman said the different categories of disabilities needed to be recognised in government policies and programmes, stressing that disability should not be understood only in terms of visible or physical disabilities.

According to him, many Nigerians were unaware of the diversity within the disability community, including persons who are Deaf, blind, affected by leprosy, intellectually disabled or living with psychosocial disabilities.

He said the forum was aimed at bringing government institutions and other stakeholders together to secure commitments towards implementing existing policies and programmes.

“We have a lot of policies, programmes for these people with disabilities, but what is our position? That is part of the reason why we are having this particular discussion,” he said.

The JONAPWD president also called for increased government funding for the disability community, arguing that the resources required to address the needs of persons with disabilities were far greater than the current provisions.

Usman argued that the Federal Government should consider allocating at least N1 trillion to address the needs of persons with disabilities.

“I think N500 billion is small for the community of persons with disabilities. Can’t you see that the budget of some states will reach almost close to that, and the population of persons with disabilities is more than many states in this country? My demand is at least N1 trillion,” he said.

Speaking, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Special Needs and Equal Opportunities, Mohammed Isa, said disability inclusion should not be viewed solely from the perspective of funding.

Isa acknowledged gaps in implementation, but said stronger collaboration among government agencies, development partners, civil society organisations and organisations of persons with disabilities was necessary to address them.

He said the Federal Government had established a legal and institutional framework for disability inclusion through the Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act 2018 and the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities.

According to him, the administration was now focused on implementation, noting that about 29 states had either enacted disability laws or established agencies responsible for persons with disabilities.

“We agree that there is a gap in the implementation. We cannot achieve implementation. That is the reason why we need a kind of multi-sectoral collaboration,” Isa said.

He said his office was mandated to work with ministries, departments and agencies, civil society organisations, development partners and subnational governments to assess disability inclusion and promote equal opportunities.

Isa advocated disability-inclusive budgeting across MDAs, saying the responsibility for inclusion should not be left to the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities alone.

“It is not about the allocation of the funding. It is about the commitment to implement,” he said.

Rights advocate and Executive Director of Spectrum Care, Reuben Ikepe Agbedi, said the RiA Project was designed to strengthen the capacity of persons with disabilities and their representative organisations to advocate for their rights.

He said Nigeria’s approach to disability inclusion had often focused on disabilities that were more visible, leaving persons with intellectual and psychosocial disabilities and Deaf persons facing significant barriers.

He cited education as one area where exclusion remained evident, saying some children with disabilities were still turned away from schools because teachers lacked the skills to meet their learning needs.

He called for increased training of teachers and greater adaptation of mainstream schools to accommodate children with different forms of disabilities.

The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Dr Bernard Doro, represented by the Director of Special Needs in the ministry, Sunday Hezekiah, said the Federal Government had taken significant steps towards addressing the challenges confronting persons with disabilities.

The minister reaffirmed the government’s commitment to improving the welfare and inclusion of persons with disabilities.