Stakeholders advocate inclusion, equity for PWDs in Gombe
Stakeholders in Gombe State have advocated the inclusion of People with Disabilities (PWDs) in all sectors to ensure equity in society.
The stakeholders shared their views in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Tuesday in Gombe during a training programme on disability inclusion awareness.
The training was organised by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through its state Accountability, Transparency and Effectiveness (State2State) Activity.
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According to them, PWDs in Gombe State should be given opportunities to harness their potential by removing all the barriers they encountered in accessing the services enjoyed by others in society.
Mrs Zainab Tijani, a lecturer at the Department of Business Administration, Gombe State University, said PWDs were not different from anyone in society, and that they deserved all the services enjoyed by people without disabilities.
Tijani said PWDs should be given access to education, social services, health care and other services in line with the policy of inclusion.
She said PWDs were not made the way they were by their own decisions and should not be stigmatised.
Tijani said society had not been fair to the PWDs opining that the worst thing is the psychological impact created by the society where a PWD will not feel that he or she is disabled until they are made to feel so.
“I am now an advocate for PWDs; in fact, I see myself as one of them now and I will always protect their interest anywhere,” she promised.
Mr Dumo Massa, the State Desk Officer, USAID State2State on Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), Ministry of Water Resources, Gombe State, said the inclusion of PWDs in all sectors of the society should be prioritised adding that PWDs have the ability to compete at any level if given the right platform.
