Sightsavers and the Kaduna State Government have trained 15000 health service providers in the state, improving the knowledge and confidence in delivering inclusive health care.
Sightsavers’ Programme Director for Neglected Tropical Diseases(NTD’s), Anita Gwom, made the disclosure during the closeout ceremony of the five-year Inclusive Family Planning (IFPLAN) Project in Kaduna.
She stated that the project had reached more than 1,900 people with disabilities through community-level interventions and provided family planning information to over 544,000 people with disabilities.
Gwom added that the project also delivered stigma reduction messages through radio and digital campaigns, to more than three million people without disabilities across the state.
She explained that as part of efforts to strengthen health systems, accessibility audits were conducted in 24 health facilities, followed by renovations in 23 of them.
According to her, one of the project’s most notable achievements was policy transformation.
She said that the state had domesticated the national Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights policy for people with disabilities and adopted a costed implementation plan valued at $22 million.
Gwom added that Disability Desk Officers were deployed across all the 24 local government health authorities and in 23 project-supported facilities, while eight persons with disabilities now sit on health committees.
She called on government actors, civil society, and communities to sustain investments in disability-inclusive health systems and keep persons with disabilities at the centre of decision-making.
“Inclusion isn’t a project that simply ends, It is justice, it is equity, and it is the future we must all stand behind,”she said
While speaking, the Commissioner for Health, Hajiya Umma Ahmed, reaffirmed the commitment of Gov. Uba Sani’s administration to advancing inclusive health services, mobilising resources and pushing for nationwide adoption of disability-inclusive approaches in healthcare.
She explained that the close-out of the project marked the beginning of a greater responsibility for the state to sustain and scale its gains, stressing the need to institutionalise the lessons from the initiative across the entire health system.
“Our vision is to build a health system where inclusivity is not a project but a culture, not a pilot but a statewide and national standard,” she said.
The commissioner commended Sightsavers International for its leadership, technical expertise and commitment, adding that the partnership demonstrated how government, communities and development actors could work together to achieve lasting change.
She also appreciated healthcare workers, community leaders, advocates and persons with disabilities whose voices shaped the programme.
Meanwhile, some of the beneficiaries of the project commended sightsavers saying they now enjoy family planning facilities without stress.
Asiya Umar recalled how PWD faced stigma in the past by healthcare personnel saying things had changed for the better since the IFPLAN project.
The News Agency is Nigeria (NAN) reports that the project, funded by UK Aid and led by Sightsavers, was implemented in collaboration with BBC Media Action, the Kaduna State Government.
Other partners were the Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities (JONAPWD), PENDA, and the Network of Women with Disabilities
