The Cross River State Government has launched a statewide survey of persons with disabilities to strengthen inclusive planning, improve resource allocation and ensure that government interventions adequately respond to their needs.
The two-day exercise was flagged off in Calabar, the state capital, by Governor Bassey Otu, who was represented by the Vice Chairman of the Cross River State Planning Commission, Dr. Bong Duke.
Governor Otu said persons with disabilities constitute an important part of the state’s population and contribute to their families, communities and the wider economy as students, professionals, entrepreneurs, civil servants and parents.
He reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to disability inclusion, stressing that reliable data would be critical to developing policies and programmes that effectively address the needs of persons with disabilities across the state.
The governor said the survey would help government identify existing gaps, understand barriers limiting access to healthcare, education, employment and social services, and assess the participation of persons with disabilities in community life.
“Government cannot plan effectively for what it does not have adequate information. The needs of a population cannot be properly understood if the evidence is missing,” Otu said.
He urged the enumerators deployed for the exercise to approach households with dignity and respect, listen carefully to respondents and conduct the survey professionally.
Otu also called on residents and communities across the state to cooperate with the enumerators and provide accurate information to ensure the success of the exercise.
Speaking at the ceremony, the State Statistician-General, Mrs. Akedoh Edet, described the exercise as more than a data-collection initiative, saying it would provide government with the evidence required for informed decision-making.
Edet said the findings would assist government and stakeholders in identifying gaps, designing appropriate interventions, allocating resources more effectively and advancing a more inclusive Cross River State.
She appreciated the State Planning Commission, Cross River Geographic Information Agency and the Association of Persons with Disabilities for their support and collaboration towards the exercise.
The Statistician-General urged residents to cooperate with enumerators as they visit identified households across communities in the state.
The enumerators underwent about three months of training on electronic data collection, including the use of designated applications, devices and other technical procedures required for the exercise.
The training was designed to promote professionalism, community acceptance and the collection of accurate data as the enumerators traverse communities across Cross River State.
The flag-off ceremony also featured a demonstration of Computer-Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI), the electronic data-collection method to be used during the survey.
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