By Mustapha S. Koli
In a significant move towards promoting the rights and inclusion of people with disabilities, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on Thursday, June 6, 2024, validated a comprehensive Regional Action Plan for the Inclusion of People with Disabilities for the period 2022-2030, in a 2-day hybrid meeting in Abuja, Nigeria.
The ministers responsible for disability inclusion within ECOWAS member states recommended the plan to the regional organization’s Council of Ministers for adoption and also pledged their support and commitment to implement the plan in their respective countries. This plan, developed based on a regional study launched by the ECOWAS Commission in August 2021, aims to significantly improve the living conditions of people with disabilities by ensuring their rights and full participation in society.
Key recommendations from the ministers include the establishment of an ECOWAS Agency for the Inclusion of People with Disabilities and the consideration of the economic aspects of disability inclusion. They also encouraged the ECOWAS Commission to recruit individuals with disabilities and to increase support for providing essential support equipment across all member states.
The ministers urged their countries to intensify efforts to promote disability inclusion, enhance and standardize data collection on disabilities, and foster partnerships with the private sector and development partners to mobilize resources at both national and regional levels. They also committed to the ratification of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in Africa, noting the currently low ratification rates within West Africa. To date, only one country on the African continent has signed and ratified this protocol.
Professor Fatou Sow-Sarr, ECOWAS Commissioner for Human Development and Social Affairs, reiterated the organization’s commitment to providing leadership and coordinating the resources necessary to support member states in implementing the plan. She expressed satisfaction with the validation of the plan, seeing it as a major step forward for the rights of people with disabilities in the ECOWAS region.
In a symbolic gesture, Mohammed Abah Issa, the Senior Special Adviser to the President of Nigeria on Special Needs and Equal Opportunities, pledged the launch a project dubbed “Beyond Disability which will aim at promoting the inclusion and accessibility of people with disabilities in Nigeria.