The Albino Foundation Public Notice
The Executive Secretary, National Commission for Persons With Disabilities, Mr. James D. Lalu has called for effective collaboration with the office of special adviser on Sustainable Development Goals so as to deliver quality services to Persons with Disabilities.
In a statement signed by the head of media and publicity, NCPWD, Mbanefo JohnMichael, Lalu made the call when he paid working visit to the Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Sustainable Development Goals, Princess Adejoke Orelope -Adefulire in Abuja toda.
The ES lamented that that 80% of PWDs live in rural areas in severe conditions, saying, “most of them do not have habitable homes but make do with slums which even worsen their health status and affect their productivity”.
Lalu noted that all of the 17 SDGs revolve around the basic things of life out of which Housing (shelter) is very essential.
Highlighting details of his visits to the Federal Mortgage Bank and the Federal Housing Authority to form partnership in order to secure affordable homes for Persons with disabilities, Lalu pointed out that the 7 points in the SDGs placed emphasis on PWDs and seized the occasion to seek the SSA’s intervention on these key areas.
Speaking further, the ES reiterated on his recent infrastructural inspection to ensure that the Housing Units being built by the Federal Government in fulfillment of President Muhammadu Buhari’s agenda of providing mass Housing for Nigerians which commensurate with the accessibility requirement of Persons with disabilities.
Responding Princess Adejoke underscored that SDGs explicitly include Disability and Persons with Disabilities 11 times. She said this is evident in the areas of Education, growth and employment, inequality, accessibility of human settlement enhanced by data collection and monitoring of the SDGs. She equally reiterated the provision by the United Nations for Persons with disabilities and gave a link for onward correspondence i.e. enable@UN.org.
The SSA assured of a virile partnership between the SDG and NCPWD which she said will birth a committee that would focus on a Short, Medium and Long term plan in order to come up with a substantial report in the next 2 to 3 weeks from today.
