Coronavirus Pandemic
THE Centre for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD), has appealed to government at all levels to screen more people living with disabilities (PLWDs) in order to access free COVID-19 medication.
The Director of the centre, Mr Dabid Anyeale, made the appeal at a webinar, held on Thursday to disseminate a survey conducted by the centre in all the 44 local government areas of Kano State.
He said that the centre conducted rapid assessments of the effect of government’s COVID-19 communication and palliative distribution strategies.
Presenting the outcome of the survey, Anyeale said that 1,028 respondents took part in the exercise conducted by a team of researchers and interpreters deployed to the council areas by the centre.
The findings, he said, revealed that PLWDs had excellent knowledge of COVID-19, which they obtained from the radio and the social media.
Anyeale also said that about 23 percent of the respondents said they heard of COVID-19 and the palliative distribution through the radio, while about 50 percent claimed not to have been invited to benefit from the palliatives, with 53 percent saying they received the palliatives.
He further appealed to the government to implement the national and state disability laws to enhance the participation of people living with disabilities in the distribution of COVID-19 palliatives and other socio-economic schemes.
Anyeale, however, commended the state government for creating the office of the Special Adviser on Disabilities in order to take care of the interests of PLWDs.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that CCD was established for the purpose of educating, supporting and empowering them and their families and maximise their potentials.
NAN also reports that CCD, established in 2002 in Lagos, works to promote independent living, human rights and social inclusion of PLWDs in development efforts. (NAN)
– Jun. 25, 2020 @ 16:55 GMT |
Tags: COVID-19: Group seeks screening of people living with disabilities
