….stakeholders demand implementation of Disability Act

By Gabriel Ewepu

ABUJA – THE World Bank, Friday, assured disability-inclusive Water, Sanitation and Hygiene, WASH, programme in Nigeria through its $700 million Sustainable Urban and Rural Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (SURWASH) programme.

The World Bank’s SURWASH Task Team Lead, Awa Diagne, made this known at the National Roundtable on Disability Inclusion in WASH in Abuja, in collaboration with stakeholders, civil society organisations, and representatives of Persons With Disabilities, PWDs.

Basically, the meeting focused on was assessing progress made, identifying existing gaps, and proferring inclusive solutions within the SURWASH implementation framework, which, Diagne emphasized that the programme is not a one-off intervention but a systemic, performance-based platform designed to strengthen national delivery systems across Nigeria.

Meanwhile, she said SURWASH integrates disability inclusion into its performance-based financing model and supports the development of context-specific policies and guidelines to improve service delivery.

SURWASH programme is being implemented in seven states of Delta, Ekiti, Gombe, Imo, Kaduna, Plateau and Katsina.

She said: “SURWASH is not a project, it is a programme that aims to strengthen national systems to deliver WASH services to everyone, with special consideration for people living with disabilities.

“We are not just financing infrastructure; we are helping states design policies that embed inclusion and resilience from the start, a major focus of the discussion was the importance of inclusive design that goes beyond physical infrastructure.

“Accessibility must go beyond ramps and handrails, it must reflect the full spectrum of disabilities, mobility, visual, hearing, cognitive, and must begin with meaningful engagement of stakeholders from the outset.”

She also made it clear that added that disability inclusion is an essential part of design, planning, and implementation, therefore, state-level implementers are to take the outcomes of the roundtable meeting back to their respective regions and translate discussions into action.

“We need to be more conscious of who we consult, and what we mean by disability inclusion”, she said.

Meanwhile, she pointed out that monitoring, evaluation, and accountability demand strengthening in order to ensure inclusive outcomes.

In another remarks, World Bank’s Senior Social Development Specialist, Cindy Ikeaka, noted challenges faced by PWDs in terms of accessing essential services, which according to her, over 25 million Nigerians live with disabilities, and lamented that most of them are excluded from public places and services due to inaccessible infrastructure and weak enforcement of inclusion policies.

“We have children with disabilities who cannot go to school simply because the buildings are not designed to accommodate them”, Ikeaka said.

Referring to Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act 2019, she called on government to ensure enforcement of the Act,
“While some states have domesticated the law, enforcement remains inconsistent, it is not enough to pass a law, there must be mechanisms to ensure it is enforced.”

She also pointed to other inclusive development efforts by the World Bank, such as the Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE) project, which promotes inclusive education, including for girls living with disabilities, therefore, stressed the importance of participatory engagement in all phases of development programmes.

“A person with a disability understands the barriers better than someone without one. If we want to ensure accessibility in schools, water points, or health centres, we must engage those directly affected.

“Inclusion is not optional but essential to achieving sustainable development and equitable service delivery”, she said.

The National Programme Coordinator, SURWASH, Abdulhamid Gwaram, maintained that disability inclusion in Nigeria’s WASH sector is both a development priority and a legal obligation.

Gwaram said, “Disability inclusion is not just a moral imperative, it is enshrined in Nigerian law.

“We now have partnerships with key stakeholders like the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities, but we must take these conversations to the states and local governments to ensure real impact.”