…persons with disabilities gets 15% of global budgets allocated to addressing their needs, who also constitute 15% of the world’s population.
- ANAMBRA, NIGERIA- The iNews Times | Persons with disabilities (PWDs) in Anambra State have called for full inclusivity and equal access to all areas of societal life, including education, employment, healthcare, and public participation. They urged authorities to eliminate barriers, challenges, and discriminatory practices that continue to marginalise them.
Speaking at a press briefing on Monday at the Dora Akunyili Women Development Centre in Awka, the Chairman of the Anambra State Disability Rights Commission, Chukwuka Ezewuzie, highlighted the persistent difficulties faced by PWDs in the state, particularly limited access to public buildings, healthcare services, education, and job opportunities.
Ezewuzie said the media interaction was part of activities marking the International Day of Persons with Disabilities. He noted that the commission has developed plans to advance inclusive education, enforce accessibility standards, support economic empowerment, and push for policy reforms.
“This briefing is part of our activities for the 2025 International Day of Persons with Disabilities,” he said. “Two major UN summits this year, the Global Disabilities Summit in Berlin and the Social Development Summit in Doha, emphasised that accessibility and inclusivity are essential elements of any national development plan or budget.”
He explained that the Berlin summit recommended that persons with disabilities gets 15% of global budgets allocated to addressing their needs, who also constitute 15% of the world’s population.
Ezewuzie noted that Anambra currently leads the South-East region in the National Government Forum of Disability Commissions and Agencies. He added that the state’s Disability Rights Commission, established in 2021, was created to implement the 2018 Disability Rights Law, safeguard the rights and welfare of PWDs, and eliminate discrimination.
He also highlighted several firsts achieved by the state:
The first in the South-East to domesticate the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
The first to establish a functional disability commission
The first to appoint a political officeholder with a disability
The first to appoint a Permanent Secretary with visual impairment
