Why children with disabilities face stigma- NGO
By Felicia Imohimi
An NGO, Empowering Abilities Through Inclusive Pages (EATIP) has attributed the persistent stigmatisation faced by Children With Disabilities (CWDs) to low public awareness and limited representation.
EATIP Project Manager, Mrs Praise Akobo, said this when she paid an advocacy visit to the Managing Director of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Malam Ali Muhammad Ali, on Tuesday in Abuja.
NAN reports that EATIP is a European Union-supported NGO.
Akobo said it was unfortunate that many parents and caregivers do not have sufficient awareness of the rights and opportunities available for children with disabilities.
This, she said, results in the stigma often faced by the group.
Akobo said in spite of the country’s inclusive education policy and legal frameworks such as the Discrimination Against Persons with Disability Prohibition Act 2018, awareness about the rights of CWDs remain low.
She said the visit was to seek the agency’s partnership in changing the narrative regarding stigmatisation of CWDs through constant reportage.
According to Akobo, stakeholders rarely consult with the disability community resulting in ineffective accessibility.
” Employers in school settings often do not have adequate knowledge of disability issues and continuous training for teachers on how to accommodate various impairments is lacking, ‘’ she said.
The project manager,however, advocated for inclusive awareness programmes focusing on disability-related issues.
She also called for dedicated columns, features and disability dedicated reporters among others to improve inclusive education.
Akobo, who solicited partnership with the agency in championing disability narratives, described NAN as a “media oracle.”
” Without any doubt, media engagement is essential to amplify awareness, educate all stakeholders, normalise inclusion, change stereotypes and challenge prejudice,” she said.
Akobo further called for inclusive environment where children and young adults with disabilities can thrive and begin to contribute meaningfully from an early age in the society.
Responding, Ali, represented by the Editor -in-Chief of the agency, Mufutau Ojo, lauded the initiative of the NGO.
Affirming NAN’s status as the largest content provider in Africa, he pledged that the agency would provide media support to the project.
He also said the agency would continue to be in the vanguard of driving public interest journalism.
” We have a duty to support this initiative and we would do so in the quest to promote public interest journalism,” he said.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
Edited by Mufutau Ojo
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