2015 Int'l Day of Persons with Disabilities

ENCOURAGING PERSONS LIVING WITH DISABILITIES AS THE 2015 INT’L DAY OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES IS MARKED TOMORROW THURSDAY DECEMBER 3

      

Today December 3, the world over is commemorating the 2015 International Day of Persons with Disabilities. The United Nations (UN) Decade of Disabled Persons was held from 1983 to 1992 to enable governments and organizations at all levels to implement measures to improve the life of disabled persons all over the world.

      

On October 14, 1992, as the decade drew to a close, the UN General Assembly proclaimed December 3 of every year as the International Day of Disabled Persons. This day was first observed on December 3, 1992. Subsequently, on December 18, 2007, the Assembly changed the observance’s name from the ‘International Day of Disabled Persons’ to the ‘International Day of Persons with Disabilities’. The new name was first used in 2008.

      

Disability is the consequence of an impairment that may be physical, sensory, mental, cognitive, emotional, developmental, or some combination of these. A certain disability may be present from birth, or occur during a person’s lifetime.

      

Disability is an umbrella term covering impairments, participation restriction, and activity limitations. An impairment is a plight in one’s body function or structure; a participation restriction is a problem experienced by a person in involvement in life situations; whilst an activity limitation is a difficulty encountered by an individual in executing a task or action.

      

This implies that disability is indeed a complex phenomenon, reflecting an interaction between features of a person’s body and features of the society in which he/she lives or belongs. For instance, various forms of chronic disease may also qualify as disabilities.

      

Some advocates object to describing certain conditions such as deafness, vision impairment, or autism as disabilities, arguing that it is more appropriate to consider them as developmental differences that have been unfairly stigmatized by the society. In the same vein, others argue that disability is a result of exclusion from mainstream society and not because of impairment.

      

The term ‘disability’ broadly describes an impairment in a person’s ability to function as an individual, caused by changes in several subsystems of the body or in mental health. The degree of disability may range from mild to moderate, severe, or profound. A person might also be suffering from multiple disabilities. Irrespective of the degree or nature of the disability, it can be measured objectively or subjectively.

      

Considering the causes of disability, the condition could be inherited or genetically transmitted; congenital, meaning caused by a mother’s infection or other diseases gotten prior to or during pregnancy as well as soon after birth, or via embryonic/fetal developmental irregularities; it could also be acquired, such as conditions caused by illness or injury; or even of unknown origin, as the case may be.

      

Currently, there are several classes of disability including Physical disability, Sensory disability, Vision impairment, Hearing impairment, Olfactory and gustatory impairment, Balance disorder, Somatosensory disorder, Intellectual disability, Mental disorder, Pervasive developmental disorders, Developmental disability, among others. Whichever type that is involved, it is worth noting that an individual with any form of disability can function as effective as, even more effective or efficient than, able-bodied individuals if given the needed support or encouragement.

      

Against this backdrop, based on our individual/corporate social responsibilities, we are expected to always endeavour to do everything within our reach and humanly possible to ensure that persons living disabilities at our respective jurisdictions are duly given a sense of belonging starting from the classrooms to working places with a view to strengthening nation building.

       

At the various institutions of learning, from primary to tertiary level, rather than discriminating the said set of people, they are meant to be given special attentions by the teachers and management of the schools. For instance, those suffering from vision impairment such as the albinos are supposed to be provided with special sunglasses and also meant to sit at the front of their classrooms or closer to the board. Such treatment ought to be replicated during their various examinations, either internal or external.

      

Similarly, during electioneering eras, the electoral umpire is expected to make a different arrangement towards the sensitization or orientation of the electorate with disabilities in line with the nature of their challenges. And, on the election days, the persons in question deserve a preferential treatment throughout the polls to enable them cast their votes properly as demanded.

      

More so, it is no longer news that in the labour market as well as political settings, the degree of discrimination faced by persons living with disabilities is presently on the rampage. In view of this, there’s a compelling need for the legislators to enact a strict law that would stipulates a basic statutory percentage of persons with disabilities expected to be found in any public sector, or a certain minimum number of persons with disabilities that must be employed or appointed in the civil service or political arena, as the case might be, in accordance to the directive of the United Nations.

      

More pathetically, it is obvious that recently, several prospective students with disabilities such as HIV/AIDS or physical challenges of most citadels of learning across the country especially the private tertiary institutions are invariably deprived of their chances of securing admission thereby making most of them lose interest of furthering their education. Undoubtedly, the level of post-traumatic stress disorder attributed to the aforementioned stigmatization cannot be overemphasized that if adequate and drastic approach is not taken by the appropriate authorities towards ending the anomaly, it is liable to degenerate into an untold societal menace soonest.        

      

Above all, acknowledging the fact that persons with disabilities easily fall victim of any disaster or crisis owing to vulnerability, there’s no need reiterating that they are meant to be attended to, or treated as a priority during any disaster management. To this end, any personnel/expert involved in the management of any form of crisis ought to ensure that individuals with disabilities that are resident in the affected area are first attended to as well as duly catered for before any other resident.

      

As Nigeria in its entirety joins the rest of the world to commemorate the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, I’m using this medium to enjoin every Nigerian and civil society organization to at all times in their respective capacities endeavour to protect the rights of the teeming persons living with disabilities found within our various societies. We can actualize this by confronting any norm or perception that condones any kind of discrimination against them. Think about it!

Comr Fred Doc Nwaozor  

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