The Joint National Association of Persons with Disability (JONAPWD), Kaduna State chapter,
has called for inclusion and participation in the implementation of the Kaduna State Social Protection Policy.
The Chairman of the association, Mr Suleiman Abdulazeez, made that call in Kaduna on Thursday at the end of Quarterly Review Meeting of the group with relevant government agencies.
The meeting was supported by the Coalition of Associations for Leadership, Peace, Empowerment and Development (CALPED) to review progress, challenges and chart a way forward.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the state government had made provisions for Disability Benefits in the Social Protection Policy to support 50,000 Persons Living with Disabilities (PWDs) with N5,000 monthly stipend.
The payment of the stipend is expected to commence in the third quarter of 2021 with 10,000 beneficiaries, which will increase to 20,000 in 2022 and 50,000 by 2023.
Abdulazeez said the association wanted to be involved in the implementation of the Disability Benefits and other interventions targeting PWDs.
He explained that JONAP would partner the State Operations Coordination Unit, the custodian of the State Social Register, to ensure that poor and vulnerable PDWs were captured in the register.
He added that the association would equally engage the Kaduna State Contributory Health Management Agency to ensure that its members benefit in the ongoing health insurance scheme for the poor and vulnerable.
The chairman said “we would engage line ministries, departments and agencies, as well as relevant community structures in the implementation of the social protection intervention to ensure that PWDs were not left out.
“This is part of efforts to ensure inclusion and active participation of PWDs in social protection programmes in the state.”
The SOCU Head of Operations, Mr Biya Dogon, also told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that “the state currently has over 524,424 poor and vulnerable households in the social protection register, of which, 45,311 households are PWDs.”
Dagon assured the PWDs that they would be given priority during the community-based selection and enrollment of poor and vulnerable households into the programme.
He said that SOCU was open to strengthening engagements and partnership with the disability community, adding that the partnership would address exclusion errors and would help to increase their number in the social protection register.
Similarly, Mr Aliyu Yakasai, the Executive Director, Kaduna State Rehabilitation Board, said the meeting provided an opportunity to engage more MDAs and relevant stakeholders on the implementation of the social protection programmes.
Yakasai assured the PWDs that the board would ensure full implementation of interventions targeting the disability community as provided for in the social protection policy.
On his part, Mr Steven Waya, the Head of Gender and Social Inclusion of CALPED, told NAN that it was the first time JONAP had a review meeting to look at the journey so far.
Waya said that all grey areas, particularly the current number of PWDs in the social protection register, which was viewed by the disability community as limited compared to their numbers, was addressed.
He noted that “CALPED would continue to support PWDs in strengthening partnerships with relevant MDAs and stakeholders and ensure that they took the lead in engaging the governance process.
“This, in the long run, would improve inclusion and participation of people living with disabilities in the design and implementation of programmes that affect them and ensure they were not left behind,” he said. (NAN)
