Jela’s Development Initiatives, JDI, a non-profit organisation, has released a report on the mental health of youths with disabilities and their family members.
The report was launched on December 2, 2022, after thorough research and robust interface with a cross-section of youths with disabilities, particularly those with albinism, dwarfism, the visually impaired, the hearing impaired, sickle cell warriors and those affected by leprosy.
Through 20 group therapy sessions in the FCT and Lagos, the organisation reached 264 youths with disabilities and 81 family members, making a total of 345 beneficiaries and study sample.
The report was informed by the need to further draw attention to the issues faced by persons with disabilities and their family members, especially as it pertains to how social exclusion, abuse, harassment and other challenges may lead to depression and anxiety amongst them.
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The founder of JDI, Angela Ochu-Baiye, stated, “The main purpose of this report is to create awareness for the findings from the concluded project, raise issues youths with disabilities (YWDs) grapple with, strengthen the inclusion of YWDs and provide directed messages to key stakeholders that will form a resourceful reference for building a more inclusive society.”
Chief among the recommendations contained in the report is an urgent need for a holistic implementation of the Discrimination Against Persons with Disability (Prohibition) Act 2018 to ensure inclusion for persons with disabilities through building structure, employment, education and much more. For sickle cell warriors, JDI has also called for the rollout of a special package from the National Health Insurance Scheme to support the financial strain of the condition on families.
JDI has therefore called on the Federal Ministry of Education to introduce sign language in senior secondary schools’ curriculum while the Actors Guild of Nigeria and other entertainment associations have been urged to actively engage with nonprofit organizations to draw lessons on respectful representions of persons with disabilities, particularly those with dwarfism to curb stereotypes.
She added, “There is a need for the Federal Ministry of Health, National Commission for Persons with Disabilities and other organisations working on mental health to design and implement mental health sensitization and disability inclusion campaigns through mainstream media so as to influence the public’s understanding of the subject matter. We must also work closely with religious and traditional leaders as well as community engagement workers to support advocacy in dispelling myths about disability.”
JDI is a non-profit registered in Nigeria in 2019, to provide opportunities for any individual-irrespective of beliefs, gender or socio-economic background- to access potable water as well as sanitation and hygiene facilities.