An advocacy group has wrapped up a three-stage disability intervention project across Lagos State, while calling on the government to scrap “one-size-fits-all” health policies and legally enforce the rights of persons with disabilities (PWDs).
The initiative concluded this week with a final round of welfare donations to individuals, following two major institutional rollouts earlier in the season.
The intervention targeted education, daily welfare, and independent living skills across the state as the with the group donated an accessible desk scanner and desktop computer to the University of Lagos (UNILAG) Library. Received by management, the technology converts printed text into audio, allowing visually impaired students to study independently,June 2026
While the team delivered a 20kg washing machine to the Pacelli School for the Blind and Partially Sighted to improve student welfare and teach everyday life skills on July 15, 2026.
The final phase brought together stakeholders—including the Nigeria Association of the Blind and the Lagos State Office for Disability Affairs (LASODA)—to distribute direct aid to individual beneficiaries on July 16, 2026
Speaking at the final event, advocates highlighted the unseen financial burdens that trap PWDs in poverty, regardless of their employment status. For instance, a visually impaired civil servant must pay out-of-pocket for a driver, an extra expense non-disabled colleagues do not face.
The group emphasized that different disabilities require highly specialized, rather than generic, healthcare. A person with albinism needs dermatological care and sun protection, whereas an individual with cerebral palsy requires physical and speech therapy.
There was also a strong call to extend government welfare to mothers and caregivers. Many parents are forced to cut their working hours or quit their jobs entirely to provide full-time care, stretching family finances to the breaking point.
The group ended the drive with a direct challenge to LASODA, urging the agency to stop relying solely on awareness campaigns and start prosecuting those who violate the Lagos State Special People’s Law.
Taking non-compliant organizations and individuals to court, advocates argued, will send a clear message across Nigeria that disability rights are a matter of legal justice and human dignity, not charity.
