NGO to make public infrastructure, offices accessible to PWDs in Kaduna

The Executive Director of the organization, Mr. Emmanuel Bonet, disclosed this on the sidelines of a one-day engagement with relevant stakeholders on PWDs, on Friday in Kaduna.

Bonet said that access to public infrastructure Baseline Survey showed an average of four percent access to public infrastructure and offices by PWDs.

The survey, which was validated on July 13, by critical stakeholders shows that public buildings, hospital beds, public offices, schools’ buildings and facilities, ATMs, and other public services were not friendly to PWDs.

He said that the goal of the engagement was, therefore, to get the buy-in of the stakeholders, including government agencies and the private sector in making public offices accessible to PWDs.

“Everyone at the validation meeting agreed that it is time to make a difference, and we have agreed on a timeline between July and December to effect the needed changes in Kaduna metropolis.

“As such, the meeting was organized to get commitments from the management of private organizations on when they could address the identified gaps in easing access to their offices and infrastructure by PWDs,” he said.

Bonet said that the Kaduna State Facility Management Agency, responsible for renovating government facilities, had already put up a friendly desk and dedicated car park for PWDs.

He said Aid Foundation was currently working on its toilets to make them friendly to PWDs, which would serve as a prototype for other government and private sector offices in the state.

He said that the foundation was also planning to meet with all regulatory agencies and professional bodies in the state in the next two weeks, on institutionalizing designs of public buildings to be PWDs friendly.

“What this means is that no public building design will be approved by the regulatory agencies and professional bodies without making provisions for easy access to such buildings by PWDs,” Bonet said.

Also, Mr. Gabriel David, a Senior Research and Documentation Officer of the foundation, said that efforts were ongoing to make public offices and services accessible to all in the spirit of inclusion.

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David explained that the initiative was under the Evidence for Collaborative and Inclusive Development, in partnership with the UK’s Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office, and also Christian Aid.