I write to bring to your attention the plight of 22 million Nigerians who are living with disabilities. Many of them do not have equal access to health care, edu­cation, and employment opportunities, do not receive the disability-related services that they require, and experience exclusion from everyday life activities. Disability is also an important develop­ment issue with an increasing body of evidence showing that persons with disabilities experience worse socioeconomic outcomes and poverty than persons without disabilities.

Nigeria joined a number of countries in declaring support for disability rights on Friday, September 24, 2010 signing both the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and its Optional Protocol. Nigeria became the 94th ratifier of the Convention and 58th ratifier of the Optional Protocol. 

The CRPD is the first international, legally binding human rights treaty targeted at protecting the human rights of people with disabilities. A few examples of the human rights that the CRPD protects include, but are not limited to: 

· The right to be protected from abuse, violence, and torture

· The right to live in the community, with one's family, without being institutionalized against one's will

 
· The right to have access to education, transportation, and other public services

 
· The right to access information and communication, including via sign language or Braille

 
· The right to employment and a decent standard of living

 
· The right to access social justice

 
Ratifying a treaty commits a country to implementing it.

On September 28 2010, the National Assembly passed The Nigeria Disability Bill which prescribes an Act to ensure the full integration of persons with disabilities into the society and to establish a National Commission for Persons with Disabilities and vest it with the responsibilities for their education, healthcare and the protection of their social, economic, civil and political rights, 2009 (HB 37 and 46). 



This Bill is crucial to improving accessibility and equality of opportunity for Persons with Disabilities as well as promoting their participation and inclusion in all aspects of life and living and increasing respect for their autonomy and dignity. 


All that is required now is the Presidential Assent to make this Bill a Law, thus signifying a new dawn for 22 million Nigerians with Disabilities.

There must be a paradigm shift from the current trend of responding to disability issues using a ‘Charity-Based’ Approach (CBA) to a ‘Rights-Based’ Approach (RBA). 



Signed 





Irene Patrick-Ogbogu

All Access Africa (AAA)