By Moses Emorinken
As part of efforts to ensure that women and girls with disabilities across the country get the necessary support, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Voice of Disability Initiative (VDI) is providing palliatives to over 200 women and girls with disabilities.
The distribution of palliative which is part of the projects to empower and protect the rights of women and girls with disabilities is being supported by Amplify Change, an International Foundation.
In a chat with reporters yesterday in Abuja, during the distribution of the COVID-19 palliative, including food items, and sanitation materials, among others, the Executive Director of VDI, Edeh Chinyere, a lawyer, said: “This is part of the initiatives to cushion the effects of hunger for women with disabilities. The community of persons with disabilities is the most hit by the COVID-19 pandemic because most times, we need community aid and get infected. This includes the visually impaired, physically challenged, the hearing-impaired and other clusters of disability everywhere trying to find means of survival.
“We are here to distribute COVID-19 palliative to women and girls with disabilities in the FCT. This palliative is part of the packages of different activities being supported by Amplify Change, an International Foundation funding Voice of Disability Initiative (VDI) for 18 months.
“The COVID-19 palliative does not only include food items, but it also includes sanitary materials for women with disabilities because we consider this as very important to keep them clean and feel like they are members of society.
“The project also raises awareness on the sexual and reproductive health and rights and building their capacities on how to track and report issues of sexual abuse in order to document this right.
“In Benue, we discovered we had more than 70 women and girls with disabilities. In Enugu, the same thing happened. We are reaching over 200 women and girls with disabilities with the palliative.
“VDI is an organisation founded in 2015 with the mission to advocate the rights of women and girls with disabilities and also the youth with disabilities.
It also seeks to ensure a society where everyone is carried along.”