From Segun Babatunde in Bauchi
Victims of spinal cord injuries in Bauchi State under the aegis of Spinal Cord Injuries Association of Nigeria (SCIAN), have called on Government, Corporate Organizations, and other public spirited individuals to pay attention to the plight of spinal cord injury (SCI) victims and all persons with disabilities (PWD), especially during disasters and conflicts situations.
The Association also called for efforts in providing rehabilitation centres for members of the association.
Bauchi state Chairman of SCIAN, Iliya Ismail made the call on Saturday in Bauchi, at a one day awareness campaign and stakeholder engagement activity to commemorate World Spinal Cord Injury Day, that is being marked globally every 5th of September.
With the theme of this year’s Spinal Cord Injury Day tagged, “SCI in Conflicts and Disasters: Prepare and Prevent”, Mr. Ismail said the stakeholder engagement activity was aimed to raise awareness on the difficulties being faced by SCI individuals in conflict zones in Bauchi State and the world over.
The State SCIAN Chairman said that experience has shown that persons with disabilities, especially wheel chair users, are often left behind or abandoned during evacuation exercises in disasters and conflicts due to lack of preparation, as well as inaccessible facilities, services and transportation systems.
He also said that emergency plans should consider the fact that most spinal cord injured persons uses wheelchairs and as such, their locations and emergency needs should be known and assessed before disaster strikes.
On the immediate need of the Association in the state, Ismail said, “Provision of rehabilitation facilities to cater for SCI individuals and indeed PWDs is key to the functionality of most of us. Unfortunately, there is no dedicated rehabilitation facility to provide this much needed support in Bauchi State.
“We are therefore calling on Government, Corporate Organizations and Public spirited individuals to support SCIAN Bauchi State Chapter to construct it’s rehabilitation centre”, Ismail appealed.
In an interview with our correspondent, State Secretary of the Association, Ms. Safiya Gimba said that what the association needs at the moment is also for Government to have their members enrolled in the ongoing health insurance program of the state.
She further reiterated the position of association saying, “the provision of rehabilitation centres will pave the way for skills acquisition program tailored for members of the association, which will provide a life saving skills that can improve the economic status of SCI members. Such empowerment will mitigate the menace of street begging and other vices among members”.
During the engagement, medical experts gave health talk to both SCI victims and their caregivers on how to manage their conditions within and outside their homes.
Also speaking, a development worker with special interests in gender and social inclusion (GESI), Hassana Lawal Bello expressed her happiness in attending the stakeholders engagement and awareness creation activity of SCIAN.
The GESI expert then appeal to government to always prioritize issues around PWDs in policy designs, programs and activities.
The activity, which was held at the conference hall of the medical and health workers union, Bauchi State branch was the climax of a week long activities that includes visits to hospitals by SCI members, radio and television programs and counselling sessions for victims of SCI.
Our correspondent reports that the activity, which was organised with support from Bauchi State Agency for Persons with Disability, attracted participants from all walks of life that includes SCI members, PWDs, medical professionals, development workers, religious and community leaders, CSOs and the media.