Advocacy Walk Organised For The Mental Health Of PWDs

With the support of Liliane Fonds, Jela’s Development Initiatives, JDI, a nonprofit organisation, through The Leprosy Mission Nigeria, has staged an Advocacy Walk for the mental health of persons with disabilities (PWDs) and their family members.

The walk was held on Saturday, the 13th of August, and started at 7:30 am from the Teslim Balogun Stadium (Under the Bridge) to 22B, Amosu Street, Off Bode Thomas Street, Surulere, Lagos.

Angela Ochu-Baiye, the founder of JDI, commented on the initiative, and stated, “Our goal is to draw public attention to the many forms of discrimination that persons with disabilities face every day, the effect it has on their mental health and consequently, the need for a more inclusive society.”

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Ochu-Baiye, who urged Lagosians to come out and join the walk to put on the front burner the stigmatisation that people with disabilities grapple with, added that some persons with albinism, dwarfism, and sickle cell anemia, as well as members of the deaf and blind clusters would be part of the walk.

The advocacy walk, which is a component of a larger project involving free group therapy sessions for persons with disabilities and their family members, will culminate in a final report to be shared with relevant stakeholders for improvement in policy implementation.

She expressed her gratitude to Liliane Fonds and The Leprosy Mission Nigeria for being a champion of inclusion in the country and used the opportunity to call on all stakeholders to take the necessary actions to end all forms of discrimination against persons with disabilities.