The Leprosy Mission TLM has launched a series of interventions in Sokoto communities, with its priority on women, persons with disabilities, and vulnerable groups.
These initiatives aim to promote a better quality of living, and to address the challenge of gender inequality, and enhancing resilience against climate change.
Through its Strengthening Community Resilience Program in Northern Nigeria,TLM has trained civil society organisations CSOs and youth advocacy groups on gender and disability-inclusive development.
The program officer of TLM, Mr. Ameh Jerry, said the program is aimed at emphasising the importance of respecting gender inclusion,women and persons with disability rights particularly in northern Nigeria.
“The program will focus on gender inequality, women’s rights, climate change, and risk management in six northern states”.
According to him, as part of their several interventions, children of person’s with disabilities will receive training on skills acquisition and start up kits that will help them navigate the current hardship in the country.
In another intervention,TLM has also initiated a project called ‘Open Mind’ which is a four-year mental health initiative in collaboration with Amanawa Hospital to train youth in mental health awareness and support.
The program officer said that the success of this project has led to the launch of another project called ‘Farin Ciki,’ which will be targeting the elderly people.
The TLM’S commitment to eradicating leprosy in Nigeria necessitated the creation of a project titled ‘Proscheme’, which will focus on leprosy treatment, as well as ‘Capable’ which is a research project addressing the gap in leprosy treatment expertise.
During a two day training on gender and disability inclusive development by TLM, Dr. Safiya U. Muhammad highlighted the importance of gender inclusivity in project design and implementation.
Muhammad said there is the need for equal access, decision-making, participation, and well-being as a domain of change for social inclusion in persons with disability.
According to her, lack of awareness and understanding on gender based issues on the part of policy makers and projects staff is seen as an obstacle to gender inclusivity
She emphasised on the need for better experience for the excluded groups
Reacting to this,Hajiya Amina Audu, a participant at the training, said the marginalisation of women living with disabilities started from their immediate communities, therefore stating the need for inclusivity at the immediate community level.
“We women living with disability face marginalisation the most, apart from the fact that we are women, being us disabled make us at the receiving end the most compared to other women”.
Audu’s claim can be evident in a paper presentation by Professor Abubakar Abdullahi on disability inclusion and disaster risk reduction and safety.
In his presentation , Abdullahi said that disability covers a multitude of different conditions that may reduce a person’s ability to participate fully in regular activities of normal life.
According to him people living with disability are likely to die two or more times In a disaster compared to persons without disability
The professor said there is the need for Prioritising PWDs in advocacies, policy making and programming, inclusive humanitarian response, disability inclusive economic initiative and involvement of PWDs in research and monitoring
He emphasised on ensuring physical and communication accessibility, representation and inclusive programs for PWDs.
Other participants at the training from the CSO’s and persons with disability groups appreciated the effort of TLM for organising the training and pledged their support for all the TLM’s programs.