Internationational Day of Persons with Disabilities 2022

KIR Foundation’s It’s About Empathy (https://bit.ly/aboutempathy) Promoting Disability Inclusion in Nigeria!

International Day for Persons with Disabilities is observed on the 3rd of December every year. It was first established in 1992, the day promotes the recognition of all disabilities—visible and not—and the necessity for inclusion and accessibility in all aspects of society.

Disability includes long-term physical, mental, intellectual, or sensory impairment which in interaction with various barriers may hinder full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others. The World Health Organization (WHO) states that approximately 15% of people have a disability worldwide. In many, if not all, elements of modern-day society, persons with disabilities are disproportionately disadvantaged. While in Nigeria over 25 Million Nigerians are living with various types of disabilities.

In Nigeria, despite the passage of the Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act 2018, The Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities (JONAPWD) says the law which prohibits discrimination against persons with disabilities is not effective in the country. JONAPWD is the umbrella body of persons with disabilities in Nigeria. According to the National Assistant Secretary General of the association; Yusuf Olatunji Raheem; “In most of the policies and plans of the government, people with disabilities are not always put into consideration. Even with the establishment of the National Commission of Persons with Disabilities, things are not going well because most of the things provided for in the law are not yet implemented. So, as a result of that, we are still facing discrimination, negligence and so on.”

The theme of this year’s International Day of Persons With Disabilities is
“Transformative solutions for inclusive development: the role of innovation in fueling an accessible and equitable world“.  At Keeping It Real(KIR) Foundation, we believe that a disability-inclusive and accessible society must be everyone’s business. This means promoting the implementation of the Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act 2018 and strengthening the institutional landscape for disability inclusion in every sector of society. A woman with a physical disability from Abuja captures the issue well – “Persons with disabilities should not relax and think ‘we now have a law, everything you need will fall into place.’ No, we must continue to work, to advocate for implementation.”  

KIR Foundation promotes disability inclusion, an accessible and equitable world. One of the major ways that we advance this is through our Explanatory Guide on the Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act 2018; It’s About Empathy (https://bit.ly/aboutempathy).  Also, in commemoration of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities 2022; KIR Foundation is hosting a workshop on ‘Promoting the importance of inclusion in life and the workplace. Furthermore, we will support ten small business owners with disabilities with equipment to scale their businesses.