Consortium Members Raise Awareness Campaign On Inclusion Of People Living With Disabilities

Yakubu Busari

The National President of the Association of Psychiatrists Medical Doctors in Nigeria, Prof.Taiwo Obindo, has disclosed that the three advocacy training and capacity-building sessions are to foster collective responsibility for promoting GEDSI across all consortiums in the country.

While speaking during the break at the event, Prof.Taiwo called on partnership with other vulnerable people living with disability to come out and speak with one voice.

He said the training workshop is aimed at equipping consortium members with practical tools and methodologies to plan, implement, and monitor mhCAP -NTD project activities that are gender-sensitive, disability-inclusive, and socially inclusive.

Prof.Obindo revealed that the capacity building is for monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of the GEDSI initiative within the mhCAP -NTD project, ensuring that it is inclusive in practice and tracking how consortium members’ lives improve their standard of living.

One of the speakers, the representative of the Federal Ministry of Health, Mrs. Grace Olukunloye emphasized that the implementation of the project in Nigeria would create an impact in the lives of vulnerable people living with disabilities.

She said the Federal government plans to improve the well-being of persons mentally living with disorders.

Grace pointed out that the government wants to strengthen access to people-centered mental healthcare for those affected by NTDs in Nigeria (mhCAP -NTDs) through a laudable program.

She stressed that the three days of advocacy training for consortium members target participants from HANDS, TLMN, REDAID, FMOH, mhCAP -NTDs, and TBLBU, respectively.

Mrs. Grace admonished that the training was to raise awareness amongst consortium members about the principle and importance of gender equality between persons with disabilities through social inclusion in Nigeria.